Learn how to turn down an invitation from your boss politely
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to JapanesePod101.com. This is Business Japanese for Beginners, Season 1 Lesson 25 - Declining an Invitation. Eric here. |
| Natsuko: こんにちは。 奈津子です。 |
| Eric: In this final lesson you’ll learn how to politely decline an invitation from your boss. The conversation takes place in an elevator. |
| Natsuko: It's between Linda and her boss, Mr. Takahashi. |
| Eric: The speakers are in a boss-subordinate relationship, so Linda will be speaking formal Japanese since she’s the subordinate, and the boss will not be speaking formally. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Linda: お疲れ様でした。 |
| Takahashi: お疲れ。今日は金曜日だから、みんなで飲みに行かないか。 |
| Linda: すみません。せっかくですが、今日は、他の約束があります。 |
| Takahashi: そうか、それは、残念。 |
| Linda:はい、また、誘って下さい。 |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Linda: お疲れ様でした。 |
| Takahashi: お疲れ。今日は金曜日だから、みんなで飲みに行かないか。 |
| Linda: すみません。せっかくですが、今日は、他の約束があります。 |
| Takahashi: そうか、それは、残念。 |
| Linda:はい、また、誘って下さい。 |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Linda: Bye, see you tomorrow. |
| Takahashi: Hey! It’s Friday today, why don’t we go out and have some drinks? |
| Linda: Thank you, but I have another appointment today. |
| Takahashi: Oh I see, that’s too bad…but okay. |
| Linda: Yes…please invite me again, thank you! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: What Mr. Takahashi was trying to do was so called nominikeeshon, wasn’t it? |
| Natsuko: Wow. You know that word!? Actually, 飲みニケーション is a combination of the Japanese word のみ “drinking” and the English word “communication.” |
| Eric: It’s translated as "communicating while drinking." |
| Natsuko: In Japan it’s considered important to go out for drinks with coworkers after work in order to communicate and be social. |
| Eric: Right. While drinking, everyone can talk more casually, and can get closer to each other, can’t they? |
| Natsuko: That’s true. But on the other hand there are people who don’t like socializing or drinking. If you don’t like drinking, already have plans, or would rather spend time with your family, that’s totally fine. The important thing is turning the invitation down nicely. |
| Eric: How do we do that? |
| Natsuko: First, tell the person that it’s a shame that you can’t join them. Second, say why you can’t make it, which doesn't have to be true if you’re just trying to get out of going. And last, ask the person to invite you again next time. |
| Eric: Thanks for the great tips, Natsuko. Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Eric: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Natsuko: 金曜日 [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Friday |
| Natsuko: 金曜日[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: 金曜日 [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Natsuko: 飲む [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to drink |
| Natsuko: 飲む[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: 飲む [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Natsuko: せっかく [natural native speed] |
| Eric: with trouble, at great pains, long-awaited |
| Natsuko: せっかく[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: せっかく [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Natsuko: 他 [natural native speed] |
| Eric: other |
| Natsuko: 他[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: 他 [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Natsuko: 残念 [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a shame, regrettable |
| Natsuko: 残念[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: 残念 [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And last.. |
| Natsuko: 誘う [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to invite, to ask someone (V1) |
| Natsuko: 誘う[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: 誘う [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let's have a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is.. |
| Natsuko: せっかくですが |
| Eric: meaning "Thank you but...,” or “I appreciate it but..." |
| Natsuko: The word せっかく is hard to translate into English, isn’t it? |
| Eric: It is. Basically it’s an adverb expressing your regret for not meeting someone's expectations. |
| Natsuko: And です is a copula. が is a conjunction meaning “but.” |
| Eric: Altogether, it makes a set phrase that means "thank you for the invitation, but." It’s used as a preamble when you turn down an invitation or offer. |
| Natsuko: So you have to say せっかくですが first, then tell them you can’t make it. That way, you can express that you’re sorry you can’t make it. |
| Eric: Listeners, repeat after Natsuko."Thank you but,” or “I appreciate it but" |
| Natsuko: せっかくですが |
| Eric: (5 sec.) Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Natsuko: それは、残念。 |
| Eric: meaning "That's a shame." This adjective means "sorry," "regret," or "shame.” As in this lesson’s dialogue, it's often used when an invitation is turned down. |
| Natsuko: それは残念 is a casual expression. If you want to be more polite, add です and say 残念です。 |
| Eric: Let’s recap. How do you say “that’s a shame” casually? |
| Natsuko:それは残念。 |
| Eric: How do you say “that’s a shame” politely? |
| Natsuko:それは残念です。 |
| Eric: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
| Eric: In this lesson you’ll learn how to decline an invitation politely. |
| Natsuko: In the dialogue, Linda said せっかくですが、今日は、他の約束があります。 |
| Eric: meaning “Thank you, but I have another appointment today.” Let’s break this sentence down. |
| Natsuko: せっかくですが |
| Eric: which means "thank you for your invitation but,” or “I appreciate it but." |
| Natsuko: 今日は |
| Eric:This means “today” plus the particle wa. So this phrase means “as for today” |
| Natsuko:他の |
| Eric: This means “other,” and it’s followed by the particle no. Altogether, this is a phrase that means “another.” |
| Natsuko:約束 |
| Eric:meaning “appointment” |
| Natsuko:があります. Here we have the particle が plus a verb あります meaning “to exist.” [Something] があります. |
| Eric: This is a sentence pattern meaning “I have [something].” |
| Natsuko: So the latter part, 他の約束があります means “I have another appointment.” |
| Eric: Can we hear the whole sentence? |
| Natsuko: せっかくですが、今日は、他の約束があります。 |
| Eric: It literally means “Thank you but, as for today, another appointment, I have” or, more naturally, “Thank you, but I have another appointment today.” |
| Natsuko: You can also replace 約束 with 予定, meaning “plan.” For example, 他の予定があります... |
| Eric: which means “I have another plan.” Okay. Listeners, repeat after Natsuko. “I have another plan.” |
| Natsuko:他の予定があります。 |
| Eric: (5sec.) Okay. Let’s say “I have another appointment.” Repeat after Natsuko. |
| Natsuko:他の約束があります。 |
| Eric:(5 sec.) Now this time, start the sentence with sekkaku desu ga and say “Thank you but I have another appointment.” Repeat after Natsuko. |
| Natsuko:せっかくですが、他の約束があります。 |
| Eric:(5sec.) Good. Now when you turn down an invitation, it’s good manners to end with a phrase asking the person to invite you again next time. |
| Natsuko:In the dialogue, Linda said,また、誘って下さい。 |
| Eric: meaning “Please invite me again, thank you!” |
| Natsuko: また means “again.” 誘ってis the te-form of a verb, 誘う, meaning “to invite.” And ください, meaning “please,” goes at the end. |
| Eric: Can we hear the whole sentence again? |
| Natsuko:また誘ってください |
| Eric: This literally means “please invite again,” or in more natural English, “Please invite me again, thank you!” Listeners, repeat after Natsuko. |
| Natsuko: また誘ってください。 |
| Eric:(5sec.) |
| Natsuko: Some people insert the word 今度, meaning “next time,” after また and say また今度誘ってください。 |
| Eric: It means “Please invite me again next time, thank you.” Listeners, repeat after Natsuko. |
| Natsuko:また今度誘ってください。 |
| Eric: (5 sec) Great! Let’s recap. Imagine your boss says… |
| Natsuko: 今日、みんなで飲みに行かないか。 |
| Eric: Your boss has invited you out for a drink with everyone tonight, but you’ve already got plans and can’t make it. What would you say? |
| Natsuko: Here are some hints. First, you start the sentence with せっかくですが... Then give the reason why you can’t make it. Last, ask your boss to invite you again. |
| Eric: ( 5 sec. ) If you said…. |
| Natsuko: せっかくですが他の予定があります。また誘ってください。 |
| Eric: then you were right! |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, that’s all for this lesson and for this series. We hope you enjoyed it and found it useful. Don’t forget to leave us a message at JapanesePod101.com if you have any questions or comments. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you in another series! Bye! |
| Natsuko: またねー |
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