Learn how to give a reason for something formally
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Naomi: なおみです。(Naomi desu.) |
| Kat: Kat here. Beginner Series Season 6, Lesson 15. A Series of Unfortunate Events in Japan. |
| Nomi: Hello, everyone. I’m Naomi. And welcome to JapanesePod101.com! |
| Kat: With us you’ll learn to speak Japanese with fun and effective lessons. |
| Naomi: We also provide you with culture insights… |
| Kat: and tips you won’t find in a textbook. In this lesson, you'll learn how to say "because of". |
| Naomi:「ため」の使い方を勉強します。(“Tame” no tsukaikata o benkyō shimasu.) The usage of ため (tame) is the grammar point. |
| Kat: And so where does this conversation take place, Naomi-sensei? |
| Naomi: 会社 (kaisha) |
| Kat: At work. |
| Naomi: 電話で話しています。(Denwa de hanashite imasu.) |
| Kat: It's a conversation on the phone. And since it's a conversation at work, you'll hear formal Japanese. |
| Naomi: では、聞いてみましょう。(Dewa, kiite mimashō.) |
| Kat: Let’s listen in. |
| DIALOGUE |
| （電話）(Denwa) |
| 森野 モエ (Morino Moe) : お疲れ様です。森野です。体調が悪いため、会社を休みます。すみません。(Otsukare-sama desu. Morino desu. Taichō ga warui tame, kaisha o yasumimasu. Sumimasen.) |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : おはようございます。ジョシュです。台風で電車が動いていないため、少し遅刻します。(Ohayō gozaimasu. Joshu desu. Taifū de densha ga ugoite inai tame, sukoshi chikoku shimasu.) |
| 松田 一平 (Matsuda Ippei) : はい。イマイチ電気です。(Hai. Imaichi denki desu.) |
| 左 絵理花 (Hidari Erika) : ILLトラベルの左と申しますが、森野さんをお願いします。(Aierueru toraberu no Hidari to mōshimasu ga, Morino-san o onegai shimasu.) |
| 松田 一平 (Matsuda Ippei) : 申し訳ございません。森野は風邪のため休んでいます。(Mōshiwake gozaimasen. Morino wa kaze no tame yasunde imasu.) |
| 左 絵理花 (Hidari Erika) : そうですか。じゃ、ジョシュさんは？(Sō desu ka. Ja, Joshu-san wa?) |
| 松田 一平 (Matsuda Ippei) : ジョシュは台風のため、まだ来ていません。(Joshu wa taifū no tame, mada kite imasen.) |
| 左 絵理花 (Hidari Erika) : うーん。じゃ、課長さんは？(Ūn. Ja, kachō-san wa?) |
| 松田 一平 (Matsuda Ippei) : 台風で家が壊れたため、しばらく会社を休むと言っていました。(Taifū de ie ga kowareta tame, shibaraku kaisha o yasumu to itte imashita.) |
| Naomi: もう一度、会話を聞いてください。今度はゆっくり話します。(Mō ichi-do, kaiwa o kiite kudasai. Kondo wa yukkuri hanashimasu.) |
| 森野 モエ (Morino Moe) : お疲れ様です。森野です。体調が悪いため、会社を休みます。すみません。(Otsukare-sama desu. Morino desu. Taichō ga warui tame, kaisha o yasumimasu. Sumimasen.) |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : おはようございます。ジョシュです。台風で電車が動いていないため、少し遅刻します。(Ohayō gozaimasu. Joshu desu. Taifū de densha ga ugoite inai tame, sukoshi chikoku shimasu.) |
| 松田 一平 (Matsuda Ippei) : はい。イマイチ電気です。(Hai. Imaichi denki desu.) |
| 左 絵理花 (Hidari Erika) : ILLトラベルの左と申しますが、森野さんをお願いします。(Aierueru toraberu no Hidari to mōshimasu ga, Morino-san o onegai shimasu.) |
| 松田 一平 (Matsuda Ippei) : 申し訳ございません。森野は風邪のため休んでいます。(Mōshiwake gozaimasen. Morino wa kaze no tame yasunde imasu.) |
| 左 絵理花 (Hidari Erika) : そうですか。じゃ、ジョシュさんは？(Sō desu ka. Ja, Joshu-san wa?) |
| 松田 一平 (Matsuda Ippei) : ジョシュは台風のため、まだ来ていません。(Joshu wa taifū no tame, mada kite imasen.) |
| 左 絵理花 (Hidari Erika) : うーん。じゃ、課長さんは？(Ūn. Ja, kachō-san wa?) |
| 松田 一平 (Matsuda Ippei) : 台風で家が壊れたため、しばらく会社を休むと言っていました。(Taifū de ie ga kowareta tame, shibaraku kaisha o yasumu to itte imashita.) |
| Naomi: 今度は、英語の訳と一緒に聞いてみましょう。(Kondo wa, Eigo no yaku to issho ni kiite mimashō.) |
| （電話）(Denwa) |
| 森野 モエ (Morino Moe) : お疲れ様です。森野です。(Otsukare-sama desu. Morino desu.) |
| Kat: (cough cough) Good morning. This is Morino. |
| :体調が悪いため、会社を休みます。すみません。 (Taichō ga warui tame, kaisha o yasumimasu. Sumimasen.) |
| Kat: I'm not feeling well, so I'm taking the day off work. I'm sorry. |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : おはようございます。ジョシュです。(Ohayō gozaimasu. Joshu desu.) |
| Kat: Good morning. This is Josh. |
| :台風で電車が動いていないため、少し遅刻します。(Taifū de densha ga ugoite inai tame, sukoshi chikoku shimasu.) |
| Kat: The trains aren't moving because of the typhoon, so I'll be a little bit late. |
| 松田 一平 (Matsuda Ippei) : はい。イマイチ電気です。(Hai. Imaichi denki desu.) |
| Kat: Yes. This is Imaichi Electric. |
| 左 絵理花 (Hidari Erika) : ILLトラベルの左と申しますが、森野さんをお願いします。(Aierueru toraberu no Hidari to mōshimasu ga, Morino-san o onegai shimasu.) |
| Kat: My name is Hidari from ILL Travel. May I speak to Ms. Morino? |
| 松田 一平 (Matsuda Ippei) : 申し訳ございません。森野は風邪のため休んでいます。(Mōshiwake gozaimasen. Morino wa kaze no tame yasunde imasu.) |
| Kat: I'm really sorry, but Morino has a cold so is off work. |
| 左 絵理花 (Hidari Erika) : そうですか。じゃ、ジョシュさんは？(Sō desu ka. Ja, Joshu-san wa?) |
| Kat: I see. Well, how about Mr. Josh? |
| 松田 一平 (Matsuda Ippei) : ジョシュは台風のため、まだ来ていません。(Joshu wa taifū no tame, mada kite imasen.) |
| Kat: Due to the typhoon, Josh isn't here yet. |
| 左 絵理花 (Hidari Erika) : うーん。じゃ、課長さんは？(Ūn. Ja, kachō-san wa?) |
| Kat: Ahh. Well then, how about Mr. Section Chief? |
| 松田 一平 (Matsuda Ippei) : 台風で家が壊れたため、しばらく会社を休むと言っていました。(Taifū de ie ga kowareta tame, shibaraku kaisha o yasumu to itte imashita.) |
| Kat: Because his house was blown down in the typhoon, he said he would be off work for a while. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Naomi: 台風！(Taifū!) |
| Kat: Yes. The English "typhoon" is very close to the Japanese pronunciation 台風 (taifū). And the Chinese kanji actually means originally "destructive wind", and it's a tropical cyclone that brings high winds and heavy rain onto land. |
| Naomi: 日本だと、８月終わりごろから９月、１０月くらいが台風のシーズンですね。(Nihon da to, hachi-gatsu owari goro kara ku-gatsu, jū-gatsu kurai ga taifū no shīzun desu ne.) |
| Kat: So typhoon season in Japan starts at the end of August and finishes around October. |
| Naomi: キャットさんの国、スコットランドには台風はありますか。(Kyatto-san no kuni, Sukottorando ni wa taifū wa arimasu ka.) |
| Kat: Are there typhoons in Scotland? ないですね。でも大雨や強風はもちろんあります！ (Nai desu ne. Demo ōame ya kyōfū wa mochiron arimasu!) We don't have typhoons, but of course we do have a lot of heavy rain and strong winds! |
| ところで...。(Tokorode…) And by the way, typhoons in Japan are referred to by number, aren't they? Like 台風一号 (Taifū ichi-gō), 台風二号 (Taifū ni-gō). Typhoon number 1, typhoon number 2. |
| Naomi: そうですね。でも名前もあるんですよ。ただ、名前は外国語なので、難しいです。だから、番号、number を使います。(Sō desu ne. Demo namae mo aru n desu yo. Tada, namae wa gaikoku-go na node, muzukashii desu. Dakara, bangō, “number” o tsukaimasu.) |
| Kat: Ah! So typhoons do also have names, just like hurricanes do. But those names aren't in Japanese, so for example, that would be a name for the typhoon in Korean, in Vietnamese, in Thai. So maybe it’s difficult for Japanese people to remember. So they just call them by number. |
| Naomi: そうです。(Sō desu.) |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Kat: So now, let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word is: |
| Naomi: 動く (ugoku) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: to move |
| Naomi: 動く (ugoku) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 動く (ugoku) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: And next: |
| Naomi: 遅刻 (chikoku) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: lateness, late coming |
| Naomi: 遅刻 (chikoku) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 遅刻 (chikoku) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: And next: |
| Naomi: 休む (yasumu) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: to rest, to have a break |
| Naomi: 休む (yasumu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 休む (yasumu) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: And next: |
| Naomi: 壊れる (kowareru) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: to be broken, to break |
| Naomi: 壊れる (kowareru) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 壊れる (kowareru) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: And finally: |
| Naomi: 台風 (taifū) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: typhoon |
| Naomi: 台風 (taifū) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 台風 (taifū) [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Kat: Ok so now, let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. And the first one we are going to look at is? |
| Naomi: 遅刻をする (chikoku o suru) |
| Kat: “to be late”. I should also mention that the object-marking particle を (o) is optional. |
| Naomi: Right. So 遅刻する (chikoku suru) is also fine. |
| Kat: And the place or event one is late for is marked by particle に (ni). |
| Naomi: For example… デートに遅刻する。(Dēto ni chikoku suru.) |
| Kat: “I'll be late for the date.” |
| Naomi: 学校に遅刻した。(Gakkō ni chikoku shita.) |
| Kat: “I was late for school.” And actually Naomi-sensei, there's another verb meaning “to be late”, isn't there in Japanese? |
| Naomi: あ～、そうですね。 (Ā, sō desu ne.) That is 遅れる (okureru). |
| Kat: And these two are interchangeable, right? |
| Naomi: そうですね、はい。(Sō desu ne, hai.) So you can say デートに遅れる (dēto ni okureru). |
| Kat: “I'll be late for the date.” |
| Naomi: 学校に遅れた。(Gakkō ni okureta.) |
| Kat: “I was late for school.” |
| Naomi: よく遅れますか。(Yoku okuremasu ka.) Or… 遅刻しますか、キャットさん？(Chikoku shimasu ka, Kyatto-san?) |
| Kat: 日本であんまり遅刻しませんね。(Nihon de anmari chikoku shimasen ne.) |
| Naomi: おお。(Ō.) |
| Kat: Hm. In Japan, I’m not often that late because people really don’t forgive lateness in Japan. (laugh) |
| Naomi: How about in Scotland? |
| Kat: In Scotland… よく遅刻しました。(Yoku chikoku shimashita.) I was always late in Scotland but I was mended my way in Japan. Thank you Japan. (laugh) OK. So what's the next item? |
| Naomi: 壊れる (kowareru) |
| Kat: “to break”. And this is an intransitive verb. So the thing that breaks is marked by the particle が (ga), and whoever it is the breaking is not mentioned. |
| Naomi: 家が壊れる。(Ie ga kowareru.) |
| Kat: Literally "A house breaks", or in more natural English, "A house is damaged." |
| Naomi: コンピューターが壊れた。(Konpyūtā ga kowareta.) |
| Kat: “The computer broke.” |
| Naomi: アイポッドが壊れてしまった。(Aipoddo ga kowarete shimatta.) |
| Kat: “The i-Pod broke.” Umm, and also Naomi-sensei, maybe it's a slightly slangy usage, but you can also use 壊れる (kowareru) for people, can't you? |
| Naomi: ああ。(Ā.) Like ジョシュが壊れた (Joshu ga kowareta) or ジョシュが壊れている (Joshu ga kowarete iru). |
| Kat: And I really don’t have to say this, but it doesn't mean he is broke in a sense of "has no money" like in English, does it? |
| Naomi: No! It means someone cannot control their feelings, or isn't acting normal, maybe because of too much drinking or too much stress or something. |
| Kat: I see. And this is very slangy and can be taken as quite offensive unless you're very good friends, so we would say in general don't use 壊れる (kowareru) about people, only about objects! ところで...。(Tokorode…) By the way, how do you say ‘I’m broke” as in not 壊れた (kowareta), but, as in “I have no money” in Japanese? |
| Naomi: あ～。(Ā.) We say “I have no money.” |
| Kat: Ah, simply like that. Even in casual conversation. |
| Naomi: お金がない。(O-kane ga nai.) |
| Kat: Ah, that’s really easy. |
| Naomi: Or… お金がありません。(O-kane ga arimasen.) |
| Kat: So, just “I have no money” for “I’m broke.” |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Kat: OK. So the focus of this lesson is how to say “because of” or "because" in a very formal situation. |
| Naomi: Right. You'll learn the usage of ために (tame ni). |
| Kat: And the formation of this is “[the informal past form or -ta form of a verb] + ために (tame ni).” |
| Now, let us show you how to form this construction step by step. Firstable Naomi-sensei, how do you say "break"? |
| Naomi: 壊れる (kowareru) |
| Kat: And the -te form is? |
| Naomi: 壊れて (kowarete) |
| Kat: Now replace て (te) with た (ta) to form the informal past form or -ta form. |
| Naomi: 壊れた (kowareta) |
| Kat: Now add ために (tame ni). |
| Naomi: 壊れたために (kowareta tame ni) |
| Kat: And this means "Because something broke". Now, can we have a sample sentence? |
| Naomi: 家が壊れたために、私は会社を休みました。(Ie ga kowareta tame ni, watashi wa kaisha o yasumimashita.) |
| Kat: “Because my house was damaged, I took time off from work.” Listeners, listen and repeat. |
| Naomi: 家が壊れたために、私は会社を休みました。(Ie ga kowareta tame ni, watashi wa kaisha o yasumimashita.) |
| Kat: (pause) Listeners, say "Because my house was damaged, I took time off from work." |
| Naomi: (pause) 家が壊れたために、私は会社を休みました。(Ie ga kowareta tame ni, watashi wa kaisha o yasumimashita.) |
| Kat: Ok, so let's do one more. How do you say "to forget"? |
| Naomi: 忘れる (wasureru) |
| Kat: And the -ta form or past form is? |
| Naomi: 忘れた (wasureta) |
| Kat: Attach ために (tame ni). |
| Naomi: 忘れたために (wasureta tame ni) |
| Kat: And this means "Because I forgot". Now, can we have a sample sentence? |
| Naomi: 財布を忘れたために、家に帰りました。(Saifu o wasureta tame ni, uchi ni kaerimashita.) |
| Kat: “Because I forgot my wallet, I went home.” Listeners, listen and repeat. |
| Naomi: 財布を忘れたために、家に帰りました。(Saifu o wasureta tame ni, uchi ni kaerimashita.) |
| Kat: (pause) Listeners, say "Because I forgot my wallet, I went home." |
| Naomi: (pause) 財布を忘れたために、家に帰りました。(Saifu o wasureta tame ni, uchi ni kaerimashita.) |
| Kat: Now, Naomi-sensei, から (kara) and ので (node) also mean "because", correct? |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Kat: And can we use them interchangeably? |
| Naomi: うーん。(Ūn.) Well... the meaning is the same but the formality level is different. 「から」は一番カジュアルです。「ので」は少し丁寧。(“Kara” wa ichi-ban kajuaru desu. “Node” wa sukoshi teinei.) |
| Kat: Ah, so から (kara) is the most casual way of saying "because", while ので (node) is slightly more polite or formal. |
| Naomi:「ため」はとても丁寧です。(“Tame” wa totemo teinei desu.) |
| Kat: Hm. |
| Naomi: 書くときとかビジネスとかで使いますね。(Kaku toki toka bijinesu toka de tsukaimasu ne.) |
| Kat: And ため (tame) is very polite and formal. It's often used in writing or in business situations. |
| Naomi: And particle で (de) also indicates reason. で (de) can be used both formally and informally. |
| Kat: なるほど。(Naruhodo.) I see. OK. So that just about does it for this lesson. Go to JapanesePod101.com to download the lesson notes for more information. 便利なので。(Benri na node.) |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Kat: Or if I’m speaking to you all a bit more casually, 便利だから (benri da kara). |
| Naomi: そうですね。便利だから、レッスンノート読んでね。(Sō desu ne. Benri da kara, ressun nōto yonde ne. |
Outro |
| Naomi: じゃあ、また。(Jā, mata.) |
| Kat: See you next time. |
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