Learn how to say "even if"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Naomi: なおみです。(Naomi desu.) |
| Kat: Kat here. Do You Gain Weight Even if You’re Just Eating Japanese Salad? In this lesson you'll learn how to say "even if..." |
| Naomi: Right. Such as… 雨が降っても行きます。(Ame ga futte mo ikimasu.) |
| Kat: "Even if it rains, I'll go." And where does this conversation take place? |
| Naomi: レストラン (resutoran) |
| Kat: At a restaurant. And who is the conversation between? |
| Naomi: 二人の同僚です。近森 渡さんと、遠井 歩さんです。(Futari no dōryō desu. Chikamori Wataru-san to, Tōi Ayumu-san desu.) |
| Kat: Two colleagues, Wataru Chikamori and Ayumu Toi. And they're good friends too. |
| Naomi: そうです。友達なので、カジュアルに話しています。(Sō desu. Tomodachi na node, kajuaru ni hanashite imasu.) |
| Kat: So as we said, the speakers are friends, therefore they'll be speaking informal Japanese. |
| Naomi: では、聞いてみましょう。(Dewa, kiite mimashō.) |
| Kat: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : いただきまーす。(Itadakimāsu.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : いいなぁ。(Ii nā.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : なんで？(Nande?) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : 食べても太らない。(Tabete mo futoranai.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : ええ？そう？(Ee? Sō?) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : ハンバーガーを食べても、ポテトを食べても、太らないでしょ。(Hanbāgā o tabete mo, poteto o tabete mo, futoranai desho.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : そうかなぁ。(Sō ka nā.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : 自分は、野菜を食べても、水を飲んでも太るんだよ。(Jibun wa, yasai o tabete mo, mizu o nonde mo futoru n da yo.) |
| : 運動しても、やせない。(Undō shite mo, yasenai.) |
| : あーあ。歩がうらやましい。(Āa. Ayumu ga urayamashii.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : でも、渡も細いじゃん。(Demo, Wataru mo hosoi jan.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : 細くても、もっと細くなりたいの。(Hosokute mo, motto hosoku naritai no.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : もっと細かったら、病気だよ。健康的じゃないよ。(Motto hosokattara, byōki da yo. Kenkōteki ja nai yo.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : 健康的じゃなくてもいいの！(Kenkōteki ja nakute mo ii no!) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : ・・・病気だね。(... Byōki da ne.) |
| 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.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : いただきまーす。(Itadakimāsu.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : いいなぁ。(Ii nā.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : なんで？(Nande?) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : 食べても太らない。(Tabete mo futoranai.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : ええ？そう？(Ee? Sō?) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : ハンバーガーを食べても、ポテトを食べても、太らないでしょ。(Hanbāgā o tabete mo, poteto o tabete mo, futoranai desho.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : そうかなぁ。(Sō ka nā.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : 自分は、野菜を食べても、水を飲んでも太るんだよ。(Jibun wa, yasai o tabete mo, mizu o nonde mo futoru n da yo.) |
| : 運動しても、やせない。(Undō shite mo, yasenai.) |
| : あーあ。歩がうらやましい。(Āa. Ayumu ga urayamashii.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : でも、渡も細いじゃん。(Demo, Wataru mo hosoi jan.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : 細くても、もっと細くなりたいの。(Hosokute mo, motto hosoku naritai no.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : もっと細かったら、病気だよ。健康的じゃないよ。(Motto hosokattara, byōki da yo. Kenkōteki ja nai yo.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : 健康的じゃなくてもいいの！(Kenkōteki ja nakute mo ii no!) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : ・・・病気だね。(... Byōki da ne.) |
| 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.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : いただきまーす。(Itadakimāsu.) |
| Kat: Let's eat! |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : いいなぁ。(Ii nā.) |
| Kat: I'm jealous. |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : なんで？(Nande?) |
| Kat: Why? |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : 食べても太らない。(Tabete mo futoranai.) |
| Kat: Even if you eat, you don't put on weight. |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : ええ？そう？(Ee? Sō?) |
| Kat: Huh? Really? |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : ハンバーガーを食べても、ポテトを食べても、太らないでしょ。(Hanbāgā o tabete mo, poteto o tabete mo, futoranai desho.) |
| Kat: Even if you eat hamburgers and fries, you don't put on weight, right? |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : そうかなぁ。(Sō ka nā.) |
| Kat: You think so? |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : 自分は、野菜を食べても、水を飲んでも太るんだよ。(Jibun wa, yasai o tabete mo, mizu o nonde mo futoru n da yo.) |
| Kat: In my case, even if I eat vegetables and drink water, I put on weight. |
| : 運動しても、やせない。(Undō shite mo, yasenai.) |
| Kat: Even if I exercise, I don't lose weight. |
| : あーあ。歩がうらやましい。(Āa. Ayumu ga urayamashii.) |
| Kat: Ah. I'm jealous of you, Ayumu. |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : でも、渡も細いじゃん。(Demo, Wataru mo hosoi jan.) |
| Kat: But Wataru, you're thin too. |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : 細くても、もっと細くなりたいの。(Hosokute mo, motto hosoku naritai no.) |
| Kat: Even though I'm thin, I want to be even thinner. |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : もっと細かったら、病気だよ。健康的じゃないよ。(Motto hosokattara, byōki da yo. Kenkōteki ja nai yo.) |
| Kat: If you get any thinner, you'll be ill. It's not healthy. |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : 健康的じゃなくてもいいの！(Kenkōteki ja nakute mo ii no!) |
| Kat: Even if it's not healthy, I don't care! |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : ・・・病気だね。(... Byōki da ne.) |
| Kat: ...You're definitely ill. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Naomi: うーん。(Ūn.) |
| Kat: うーん。日本は細くなりたいと思っている人多いですね。(Ūn. Nihon wa hosoku naritai to omotte iru hito ōi desu ne.) |
| Naomi: 多いですね。(Ōi desu ne.) |
| Kat: There are a lot of people in Japan who want to be thinner even though they are thin already. |
| Naomi: そうですね～。まあ、でも渡はテレビ局で働いています。だから、気にしているんだと思います。(Sō desu nē. Mā, demo Wataru wa terebikyoku de hataraite imasu. Dakara, ki ni shite iru n da to omoimasu.) |
| Kat: Ah.. so Wataru works in the TV industry, so you think that's why he's so worried about gaining weight and staying slim? |
| Naomi: そうですね。でも、まあ健康が一番だと思いますけどね。(Sō desu ne. Demo, mā kenkō ga ichi-ban da to omoimasu kedo ne.) I personally think being healthy is more important than being pretty or good looking. |
| Kat: And I personally think autumn is not the best season for going on a diet. Because autumn is the harvest season in Japan and we have a lot of good food around the moment! |
| Naomi: そうなんですよね。食欲の秋ですからね。(Sō nan desu yo ne. Shokuyoku no aki desu kara ne.) |
| Kat: 食欲の秋って？(Shokuyoku no aki tte?) |
| Naomi: ああ。食欲の秋。(Ā. Shokuyoku no aki.) We say that autumn is the season for having a hearty appetite. |
| Kat: 食欲 (shokuyoku) is “appetite”, and 秋 (aki) is “autumn”. |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Kat: So the summer in Japan is very hot and humid, and a lot of people tend to lose their appetite because it’s so, you know, humid they don’t want to eat anything... and then autumn comes and it gets cooler, and suddenly all you want to eat is all the nice food that appears! |
| Naomi: ま、私はね、いつでも食欲はあります。(Ma, watashi wa ne, itsu demo shokuyoku wa arimasu.) But I always have a hearty appetite. |
| Kat: 私も。(Watashi mo.) Me too. でも食欲の一年？ (Demo shokuyoku no ichi-nen?) Naomi's Year of Hearty Appetite? |
| Naomi: そうそうそう。では、単語を勉強しましょう。(Sō sō sō. Dewa, tango o benkyō shimashō.) |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Kat: OK, so let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| And the first word is: |
| Naomi: なんで (nande) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: why?, what for?, how?, by what means? |
| Naomi: なんで (nande) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: なんで (nande) [natural native speed] |
| Kat : And next: |
| Naomi: 太る (futoru) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: to gain weight, to get fat |
| Naomi: 太る (futoru) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 太る (futoru) [natural native speed] |
| Kat : And next: |
| Naomi: やせる (yaseru) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: to become thin, to lose weight |
| Naomi: やせる (yaseru) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: やせる (yaseru) [natural native speed] |
| Kat : And next: |
| Naomi: うらやましい (urayamashii) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: envious, jealous, enviable |
| Naomi: うらやましい (urayamashii) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: うらやましい (urayamashii) [natural native speed] |
| Kat : And finally: |
| Naomi: 自分 (jibun) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: self, I, me |
| Naomi: 自分 (jibun) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 自分 (jibun) [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: 太る (futoru) |
| Kat: "to gain weight”. 反対の言葉は何ですか。(Hantai no kotoba wa nan desu ka.) What's the opposite word? |
| Naomi: やせる (yaseru) |
| Kat: "to lose weight” |
| Naomi: So… 私は太った (watashi wa futotta) is |
| Kat: “I gained weight.” |
| Naomi: 私はやせた (watashi wa yaseta) is |
| Kat: “I lost weight.” And these verbs their present continuous forms 太っている (futotte iru) and やせている (yasete iru) can describe the states of being fat or thin respectively, can't they? |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) Right. 例えば。(Tatoeba.) For example… 私の犬は太っている。(Watashi no inu wa futotte iru.) |
| Kat: “My dog is fat.” |
| Naomi: スーパーモデルはやせている。(Sūpā moderu wa yasete iru.) |
| Kat: “Supermodels are thin.” OK. And the next word is ... |
| Naomi: 健康的 (kenkōteki) |
| Kat: “healthy” 健康 (kenkō) means “health”, 的 (teki) is a suffix meaning “-like.” So literally "health-like". So let's do one more. |
| Naomi: 日本 (Nihon) is “Japan”. And 日本的 (Nihonteki) is |
| Kat: “Japan-like” or "typically Japanese". |
| Naomi: 男性 (dansei) is “man” or “male”. And 男性的 (danseiteki) is |
| Kat: “man-like” or “manly” |
| Naomi: 女性 (josei) is “woman” or “female”, so 女性的 (joseiteki) is |
| Kat: “woman-like” or “feminine” And the next word is? |
| Naomi: 自分 (jibun) |
| Kat: “self”, “I”, “me”. 自分 (jibun) means “myself,” “yourself,” “herself” or “himself.” It’s sometimes used as a first person pronoun meaning “I” or “me” usually by male speakers. |
| Naomi: うん、すこし男性的ですね。(Un, sukoshi danseiteki desu ne.) |
| Kat: It sounds a bit manly. |
| Naomi: 例えば、自分は東京に住んでいます。(Tatoeba, jibun wa Tōkyō ni sunde imasu.) |
| Kat: "I live in Tokyo." This sounds quite strong to me, as if the speaker is emphasizing that HE lives in Tokyo as opposed to someone else. It's not a super-common personal pronoun, but personally, as a girl I have used it a few times to contrast my situation with someone else's. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Kat: The focus of this lesson is how to say “even if” in Japanese. |
| Naomi: このレッスンでは「〜ても」の使い方を勉強します。(Kono ressun de wa “-te mo” no tsukaikata o benkyō shimasu.) |
| Kat: Right. When も (mo) follows the -te form of a verb, it means "even if..." |
| Let us show you with an example. Let's say "even if it rains." |
| Naomi: "It rains" is 雨が降る (ame ga furu). |
| Kat: Change 降る (furu) to its -te form, |
| Naomi: 雨が降って (ame ga futte) |
| Kat: Attach も (mo). |
| Naomi: 雨が降っても (ame ga futte mo) |
| Kat: This means "even if it rains". And can we have a sample sentence using it please? |
| Naomi: 雨が降っても、私はサーフィンに行きます。(Ame ga futte mo, watashi wa sāfin ni ikimasu.) |
| Kat: "Even if it rains, I'll go surfing." 私は (watashi wa) can be dropped. |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) |
| Kat: Listeners, listen and repeat. |
| Naomi: 雨が降っても、サーフィンに行きます。(Ame ga futte mo, sāfin ni ikimasu.) |
| Kat: (pause) Listeners, say "Even if it rains, I'll go surfing." |
| Naomi: (pause) 雨が降っても、サーフィンに行きます。(Ame ga futte mo, sāfin ni ikimasu.) |
| Kat: Let's do one more, how do you say..."to exercise"? |
| Naomi: 運動する (undō suru) |
| Kat: And the -te form is? |
| Naomi: 運動して (undō shite) |
| Kat: Attach も (mo). |
| Naomi: 運動しても (undō shite mo) |
| Kat: This means "Even if I exercise". Sample sentence, please. |
| Naomi: 運動してもやせない。(Undō shite mo yasenai.) |
| Kat: “Even if I exercise, I don't lose weight.” Listeners, listen and repeat. |
| Naomi: 運動してもやせない。(Undō shite mo yasenai.) |
| Kat: (pause) Listeners, say "Even if I exercise, I don't lose weight" in Japanese. |
| Naomi: (pause) 運動してもやせない。(Undō shite mo yasenai.) By the way, have you ever heard the expression 死んでも (shinde mo)? |
| Kat: Yes--! Like 死んでも嫌だ (shinde mo iya da), "I'd die first" or "I wouldn't be caught dead" or 死んでも忘れない (shinde mo wasurenai), "I won't forget it as long as I live." |
| Naomi: そう。死んでも許さない！(Sō. Shinde mo yurusanai!) |
| Kat: “I won’t forgive you even if I die.” |
| Naomi: とかね。(Toka ne.) 死んでも (shinde mo) literally means "even if I die" but it's used as emphasis. |
| Kat: Right. Like "over my dead body" or "I'd die before doing whatever" in English. Of course, just as in English, it's a really strong expression so be careful when and to whom you use this, but on the other hand it is a fairly commonly used expression among young people. |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) |
| Kat: Alright. I think that's about it for this lesson. Go to JapanesePod101.com to download the lesson notes for more information. |
| Naomi: レッスンノート読んでください。(Ressun nōto yonde kudasai.) |
| Kat: So please be sure to read them. |
| Naomi: お願いします。それじゃ、また。(Onegai shimasu. Soreja, mata.) |
| Kat: さよならー！(Sayonarā!) Bye! |
Outro |
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