Learn how to make a request
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Naomi: なおみです。(Naomi desu.) |
| Kat: Kat here. Making a Formal Request in Japanese. In this lesson you'll learn how to make a request. Such as "Can you wait?" |
| Naomi: 待ってくれますか。(Matte kuremasu ka.) |
| Kat: And this conversation takes place at ? |
| Naomi: 会社 (kaisha) |
| Kat: At an office. |
| Naomi: ジョシュさんと課長が話しています。(Joshu-san to kachō ga hanashite imasu.) |
| Kat: The conversation is between Josh and the section chief, or manager. It's Josh's first day at work. It's an office environment, so the speakers will be speaking formal Japanese. |
| Naomi: 丁寧に話していますね。では、聞いてみましょう。(Teinei ni hanashite imasu ne. Dewa, kiite mimashō.) |
| Kat: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 課長 (kachō) : これをよく読んで、印鑑を押してもらえますか。(Kore o yoku yonde, inkan o oshite moraemasu ka.) |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : あ、印鑑がないんですが・・・。(A, inkan ga nai n desu ga…) |
| 課長 (kachō) : じゃ、署名してくれますか。(Ja, shomei shite kuremasu ka.) |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : はい。(Hai.) |
| 課長 (kachō) : みなさん、ちょっと聞いてくれますか。(Mina-san, chotto kiite kuremasu ka.) |
| : こちらは、ジョシュアさんです。今日、うちの会社に入りました。(Kochira wa, Joshua-san desu. Kyō, uchi no kaisha ni hairimashita.) |
| : じゃ、ジョシュアさん、自己紹介をしてもらえますか。(Ja, Joshua-san, jiko shōkai o shite moraemasu ka.) |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : え？ちょっと・・・あの・・・待ってもらえませんか。(E? Chotto... Ano... matte moraemasen ka.) |
| : ちょっと、書きます。(Chotto, kakimasu.) |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : はい。大丈夫です。(Hai. Daijōbu desu.) |
| : ジョシュア・ブラウンと申します。ジョシュと呼んでください。(Joshua Buraun to mōshimasu. Joshu to yonde kudasai.) |
| : 営業の仕事は初めてですが、頑張りたいと思います。(Eigyō no shigoto wa hajimete desu ga, ganbaritai to omoimasu.) |
| : よろしくお願いいたします。(Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.) |
| 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.) |
| 課長 (kachō) : これをよく読んで、印鑑を押してもらえますか。(Kore o yoku yonde, inkan o oshite moraemasu ka.) |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : あ、印鑑がないんですが・・・。(A, inkan ga nai n desu ga…) |
| 課長 (kachō) : じゃ、署名してくれますか。(Ja, shomei shite kuremasu ka.) |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : はい。(Hai.) |
| 課長 (kachō) : みなさん、ちょっと聞いてくれますか。(Mina-san, chotto kiite kuremasu ka.) |
| : こちらは、ジョシュアさんです。今日、うちの会社に入りました。(Kochira wa, Joshua-san desu. Kyō, uchi no kaisha ni hairimashita.) |
| : じゃ、ジョシュアさん、自己紹介をしてもらえますか。(Ja, Joshua-san, jiko shōkai o shite moraemasu ka.) |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : え？ちょっと・・・あの・・・待ってもらえませんか。(E? Chotto... Ano... matte moraemasen ka.) |
| : ちょっと、書きます。(Chotto, kakimasu.) |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : はい。大丈夫です。(Hai. Daijōbu desu.) |
| : ジョシュア・ブラウンと申します。ジョシュと呼んでください。(Joshua Buraun to mōshimasu. Joshu to yonde kudasai.) |
| : 営業の仕事は初めてですが、頑張りたいと思います。(Eigyō no shigoto wa hajimete desu ga, ganbaritai to omoimasu.) |
| : よろしくお願いいたします。(Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.) |
| 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.) |
| 課長 (kachō) : これをよく読んで、印鑑を押してもらえますか。(Kore o yoku yonde, inkan o oshite moraemasu ka.) |
| Kat: After you read this carefully, can I get you to stamp it with your personal seal? |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : あ、印鑑がないんですが・・・。(A, inkan ga nai n desu ga…) |
| Kat: Um, I don't have a personal seal... |
| 課長 (kachō) : じゃ、署名してくれますか。(Ja, shomei shite kuremasu ka.) |
| Kat: Then can you sign it? |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : はい。(Hai.) |
| Kat: Yes. |
| 課長 (kachō) : みなさん、ちょっと聞いてくれますか。(Mina-san, chotto kiite kuremasu ka.) |
| Kat: Everyone, can you listen for a moment? |
| : こちらは、ジョシュアさんです。(Kochira wa, Joshua-san desu.) |
| Kat: This is Joshua. |
| : 今日、うちの会社に入りました。(Kyō, uchi no kaisha ni hairimashita.) |
| Kat: As of today, he has joined our company. |
| : じゃ、ジョシュアさん、自己紹介をしてもらえますか。(Ja, Joshua-san, jiko shōkai o shite moraemasu ka.) |
| Kat: So, Joshua, can I ask you to introduce yourself? |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : え？ちょっと・・・あの・・・待ってもらえませんか。(E? Chotto... Ano... matte moraemasen ka.) |
| Kat: Huh? Um...er...can you wait a moment? |
| : ちょっと、書きます。(Chotto, kakimasu.) |
| Kat: I'm going to write it down. |
| ジョシュ (Joshu) : はい。大丈夫です。(Hai. Daijōbu desu.) |
| Kat: Alright, I'm ready. |
| : ジョシュア・ブラウンと申します。(Joshua Buraun to mōshimasu.) |
| Kat: My name is Joshua Brown. |
| ジョシュと呼んでください。(Joshu to yonde kudasai.) |
| Kat: Please call me Josh. |
| : 営業の仕事は初めてですが、頑張りたいと思います。(Eigyō no shigoto wa hajimete desu ga, ganbaritai to omoimasu.) |
| Kat: This is my first sales job, and I intend to do my best. |
| : よろしくお願いいたします。(Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.) |
| Kat: I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Naomi: キャットさんは、ハンコ持っていますか。(Kyatto-san wa, hanko motte imasu ka.) |
| Kat: Do I have a ハンコ (hanko)? Just to confirm for our listeners, a ハンコ (hanko) is the same as an 印鑑 (inkan), right? |
| Naomi: あ、はい。同じです。(A, hai. Onaji desu.) Yes. They're same. |
| Kat: 持っていませんけど、最近作ったほうがいいかなと思っています。(Motte imasen kedo, saikin tsukutta hō ga ii ka na to omotte imasu.) I don't have one, but recently I've been thinking it’s about time I should get one... |
| Naomi: ハンコや印鑑は英語でなんですか。(Hanko ya inkan wa Eigo de nan desu ka.) Stamp? |
| Kat: What's ハンコ (hanko) or 印鑑 (inkan) in English? We usually translate it in English as "a personal seal", but people who don't live in Japan have maybe never seen one. It's a little… a really small little wooden or plastic stamp with your surname on it, used instead of a signature in Japan, and I would say almost every Japanese adult has one. |
| Naomi: はい。みんな持っていますね。(Hai. Minna motte imasu ne.) |
| Kat: Um. Apart from me. Each 印鑑 (inkan) is unique. So as you may be aware there are a lot of, for example, Yamadas and Suzukis in Japan, but even if the kanji of two people's surnames are the same, the 印鑑 (inkan) is cut slightly differently. So the characters are formed subtly differently on a stamp. |
| Naomi: そうですね、手作りだからね。(Sō desu ne, tezukuri da kara ne.) |
| Kat: Yeah, that’s right. Each one is handmade so they can cost quite a lot of money to buy. |
| Naomi: But even if you don't have hanko, usually 署名 (shomei) is good enough. 署名は signature ですね。(Shomei wa “signature” desu ne.) |
| Kat: うん。(Un.) Right. So as well as 署名 (shomei) you can also say サイン (sain). |
| Naomi: あ、そう、サイン。(A, sō, sain.) |
| Kat: サイン (sain) is also signature, right? |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Kat:「サインください」とか。(“Sain kudasai” toka.) |
| Naomi: はい、そうです。 (Hai, sō desu.) |
| Kat: So, “Please sign here.” |
| Naomi: あと、ダイアログに少し戻るんですが、ジョシュさん、自己紹介上手でしたね。(Ato, daiarogu ni sukoshi modoru n desu ga, Joshu-san, jiko shōkai jōzu deshita ne.) |
| Kat: Yes, I agree. Josh's self-introduction speech was really good. |
| Naomi: He said that… ジョシュアブラウンと申します。ジョシュと呼んでください。(Joshua Buraun to mōshimasu. Joshu to yonde kudasai.) |
| Kat: "My name is Joshua Brown. Please call me Josh". |
| Naomi: But most Japanese companies call their employees by their surnames. |
| Kat: Um, that’s right. So if you specially want to be called by your first name or nickname, なになにとよんでください (naninani to yonde kudasai) will come in handy. “Please call me whatever, whatever.” |
| Naomi: そうですね。キャットさんの本当の名前は、Katherine? (Sō desu ne. Kyatto-san no hontō no namae wa, “Katherine”?) |
| Kat: 出ました。(Demashita.) The secret is hidden. そうです。でもちょっとフォーマルなので。(Sō desu. Demo chotto fōmaru na node.) So I have to say… キャットと呼んでください。(Kyatto to yonde kudasai.) Please call me Kat. Because my full name is a bit formal. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Kat: Ok. So now, let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| And the first word we are going to see is: |
| Naomi: よく (yoku) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: well, very, often |
| Naomi: よく (yoku) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: よく (yoku) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: And next: |
| Naomi: うち (uchi) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: we (referring to one's in-group) |
| Naomi: うち (uchi) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: うち (uchi) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: OK. And next: |
| Naomi: 呼ぶ (yobu) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: to call |
| Naomi: 呼ぶ (yobu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 呼ぶ (yobu) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: Next: |
| Naomi: 営業 (eigyō) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: business, sales |
| Naomi: 営業 (eigyō) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 営業 (eigyō) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: And finally: |
| Naomi: 頑張る (ganbaru) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: to try one's best, to hang in there |
| Naomi: 頑張る (ganbaru) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 頑張る (ganbaru) [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: よく (yoku) |
| Kat: “well”, “properly” |
| Naomi: 例文です。(Reibun desu.) Here's a sample sentence. よく聞いてください。(Yoku kiite kudasai.) |
| Kat: "Please listen well" or "Please listen carefully". But よく (yoku) also means often or frequently, doesn't it? |
| Naomi: あ、そうですね。(A, sō desu ne.) Right. For example… その名前をよく聞きます。(Sono namae o yoku kikimasu.) This よく (yoku) means “often”. |
| Kat: So その名前をよく聞きます (sono namae o yoku kikimasu) means "I often hear that name". |
| Naomi: そうです。(Sō desu.) |
| Kat: So what's the next one more look at? |
| Naomi: 営業 (eigyō) |
| Kat: “sales”, “business transaction” |
| Let's have a look at the frequently used vocabulary words which contain 営業 (eigyō). |
| Naomi: はい。 営業時間。(Hai. Eigyō jikan.) |
| Kat: “business hours”, “opening hours”. This is very useful in Japan. Please remember it. |
| Naomi: はい、すごい便利ですよね。(Hai, sugoi benri desu yo ne.) |
| Kat: うん。(Un.) Can we have a sample sentence? |
| Naomi: はい。営業時間は何時から何時までですか。(Hai. Eigyō jikan wa nan-ji kara nan-ji made desu ka.) |
| Kat: Literally "What times do your business hours start and end?" or just "What are your opening hours?" |
| Naomi: I’ve just used this phrase yesterday. |
| Kat: Really? |
| Naomi: At a golf practice place. |
| Kat: Ah! Naomi-sensei does golf. I didn’t know that. |
| Naomi: 始めました。(Hajimemashita.) I have just started. |
| Kat: お〜、頑張ってください。(Ō, ganbatte kudasai.) |
| Naomi: はい。頑張ります。(Hai. Ganbarimasu.) |
| Kat: OK. Can you introduce one more vocabulary word with 営業 (eigyō)? |
| Naomi: はい。営業中 (Hai. eigyōchū) |
| Kat: This is also so useful, so please remember this. “In business” or “we’re open.” |
| Naomi: 営業中 (eigyōchū) |
| Kat: You see the sign saying 営業中 (eigyōchū) at the entrance of restaurants. |
| Naomi: あー、ありますよね。なので...。(Ā, arimasu yo ne. Nanode…) if you see the sign of 営業中 (eigyōchū), it means you can get in the shop. |
| Kat: That’s right. It’s open for business. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Kat: The focus of this lesson is how to make a request. |
| Naomi: Such as 待ってくれますか (matte kuremasu ka) and 待ってもらえますか (matte moraemasu ka). |
| Kat: "Please can you wait?" or "Can I get you to wait?" There are several ways of making a request in Japanese, just as there are in English. But for this lesson, let's just focus on the usage of くれますか (kuremasu ka) and もらえますか (moraemasu ka). |
| Naomi: For example, レシートをくれますか (reshīto o kuremasu ka) is... |
| Kat: “Can you give me a receipt?” |
| Naomi: レシートをもらえますか (reshīto o moraemasu ka) is... |
| Kat: “Can I have a receipt?” There's no major difference in meaning between くれますか (kuremasu ka) and もらえますか (moraemasu ka). There is a slightly difference in tone. Remember the formation is “[noun] + くれますか (kuremasu ka) or もらえますか (moraemasu ka).” |
| OK. Here's a question for you. If you are at a restaurant and you want an English menu, what would you say? |
| Naomi: 英語のメニューくれますか。(Eigo no menyū kuremasu ka.) Or… 英語のメニューもらえますか。(Eigo no menyū moraemasu ka.) |
| Kat: Can I have an English menu? OK, next you'll learn how to ask someone to do something. |
| Naomi: The formation is “[-te form of a verb] + くれますか (kuremasu ka) or もらえますか (moraemasu ka).” |
| Kat: Let's look at how to form them. How do you say "to wait"? |
| Naomi: 待つ (matsu) |
| Kat: And the -te form is? |
| Naomi: 待って (matte) |
| Kat: Add くれますか (kuremasu ka). |
| Naomi: 待ってくれますか (matte kuremasu ka) |
| Kat: This means "Please can you wait?" |
| Naomi: Here's a sample sentence. ちょっと待ってくれますか。(Chotto matte kuremasu ka.) |
| Kat: "Please can you wait a moment?" OK. Listeners, listen and repeat."Please can you wait a moment?" |
| Naomi: ちょっと待ってくれますか。(Chotto matte kuremasu ka.) |
| Kat: (pause) Now say "Please can you wait a moment?" in Japanese. |
| Naomi: (pause) ちょっと待ってくれますか。(Chotto matte kuremasu ka.) |
| Kat: Even if you replace the ending, くれますか (kuremasu ka) with もらえますか (moraemasu ka), the meaning doesn't change. |
| Naomi: ちょっと待ってもらえますか。(Chotto matte moraemasu ka.) |
| Kat: "Please can I get you to wait a moment?" |
| Naomi: うん、同じですね。(Un, onaji desu ne.) |
| Kat: So now, let's recap this lesson. You want someone to give you a hand or to help you. What would you say? |
| Naomi: ヒントです。(Hinto desu.) Here's a hint. 手伝う (tetsudau) is "to help" or "to give a hand". |
| Kat: (pause) OK. Naomi-sensei? What's the answer? |
| Naomi: 手伝ってくれますか。(Tetsudatte kuremasu ka.) |
| Kat: "Please can you help me?" |
| Naomi: Or… 手伝ってもらえますか。(Tetsudatte moraemasu ka.) |
| Kat: "Please can I get you to help me?" |
| Naomi:「くれますか」「もらえますか」はとても便利です。(“Kuremasu ka” “moraemasu ka” wa totemo benri desu.) |
| Kat: くれますか (kuremasu ka) and もらえますか (moraemasu ka) are very useful. OK. That's all 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: As we just mentioned, in the lesson notes, you can find more expressions indicating request. So please be sure to read them. |
| Naomi: お願いします。じゃ、また。(Onegai shimasu. Ja, mata.) |
| Kat: Bye-bye! |
Outro |
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