Learn how to describe where you're from
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Intro |
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| Risa: Imagine someone asks you where you’re from. How do you respond? こんにちは。りさです. Risa here. Describing where you are from in Japanese is easy. In this lesson, you’re going to learn how. Mark is on the plan to Japan. Let’s watch. |
| Dialogue |
| Mark: あれは、ふじ山ですか。 |
| Kyoko: はい、そうです。 |
| Mark: しゅっしんはとうきょうですか。 |
| Kyoko: はい、そうです。あなたは？しゅっしんはどこですか。 |
| Mark: アメリカです。 |
| Kyoko: ニューヨークですか。 |
| Mark: いいえ、ちがいます。ポートランドしゅっしんです。 |
| Kyoko: あぁ、そうですか。 |
| Risa: Now with English. |
| Mark: Is that Mt. Fuji? |
| Kyoko: Yes, that's right. |
| Mark: So, are you from Tokyo? |
| Kyoko: Yes, I am. And you? Where are you from? |
| Mark: I'm from America. |
| Kyoko: Oh, are you from New York? |
| Mark: No, I'm not. I'm from Portland. |
| Kyoko: Oh, is that so? |
| Vocab |
| Risa: Here are the keywords from the scene. |
| Mark: ふじ山 |
| Kyoko: ふじ山 |
| Alisha: Mt. Fuji, |
| Kyoko: ふじ山, ふじ山, ふじ山 |
| Mark: しゅっしん |
| Kyoko: しゅっしん |
| Alisha: hometown |
| Kyoko: しゅっしん, しゅっしん, しゅっしん |
| Mark: とうきょう |
| Kyoko: とうきょう |
| Alisha: Tokyo |
| Kyoko: とうきょう, とうきょう |
| Mark: あなた |
| Kyoko: あなた |
| Alisha: you |
| Kyoko: あなた, あなた, あなた |
| Mark: アメリカ |
| Kyoko: アメリカ |
| Alisha: America |
| Kyoko: アメリカ, アメリカ, アメリカ |
| Mark: ニューヨーク |
| Kyoko: ニューヨーク |
| Alisha: New York |
| Kyoko: ニューヨーク, ニューヨーク, ニューヨーク |
| Mark: ポートランド |
| Kyoko: ポートランド |
| Alisha: Portland |
| Kyoko: ポートランド, ポートランド, ポートランド |
| Mark: いいえ |
| Kyoko: いいえ |
| Alisha: No |
| Kyoko: いいえ, いいえ, いいえ |
| Key Phrases |
| Risa: Here are the key phrases from the scene. |
| Alisha: In the scene, after Mark asked Kyoko a question, what expression did Kyoko use to ask Mark the same thing? |
| Kyoko: あなたは？ |
| Alisha: First is the word for "you.” |
| Kaori: あなた |
| Alisha: And next is the topic-marking particle… |
| Kaori: は |
| Alisha: Together, it’s… |
| Kaori: あなたは？、あなたは？ あなたは？ |
| Alisha: "How about you?" or "and you?" |
| Alisha: Please note — you should say it with a rising intonation. |
| Kaori: あなたは？ |
| Alisha: Now you try! Say Kyoko's next line after she speaks. |
| Kaori: はい、そうです。 |
| Kaori: あなたは？ |
| Alisha: In the scene, after Kyoko asked Mark if he was from New York, how did he say “no”? |
| Mark: いいえ、ちがいます。 |
| Alisha: First is the word for "no." |
| Kaori: いいえ |
| Alisha: Next is a word meaning "not true" or "not right." |
| Kaori: ちがいます。ちがいます。ちがいます。 |
| Alisha: Together it’s… |
| Kaori: いいえ、ちがいます。 |
| Alisha: "No, that's not right.” It may sound almost confrontational in English, but in Japanese it's very polite. |
| Kaori: いいえ、ちがいます。 |
| Alisha: Now you try! Say Mark's first line after Kyoko asks him if he's from New York. |
| Kyoko: ニューヨークですか。 |
| Mark: いいえ、ちがいます。 |
| Alisha: In the scene, what did Kyoko say to react in a supportive way when Mark said he was from Portland? |
| Kyoko: あぁ、そうですか。 |
| Alisha: The first word is an interjection meaning "oh.” |
| Kaori: あぁ |
| Alisha: Next is an expression meaning "Is that so?" or something like "Is it?" |
| Kaori: そうですか。そうですか。そうですか。 |
| Alisha: Last is a question marking particle. |
| Kaori: か |
| Alisha: But this is not really a question. The goal of the statement is to show a supportive reaction to something that has been said, so you should say it in a falling tone. |
| Kaori: あぁ、そうですか。 |
| Alisha: Now you try! Say Kyoko's line after Mark says... |
| Mark: ポートランドしゅっしんです。 |
| Kyoko: あぁ、そうですか。 |
Lesson focus |
| Risa: Now, the lesson focus. Here’s how to talk about where you are from. |
| Alisha: Do you remember how Mark described where he was from? |
| Mark: ポートランドしゅっしんです。 |
| Alisha: First is the word for “Portland.” |
| Kaori: ポートランド |
| Alisha: Next is the word for "hometown." |
| Kaori: しゅっしん |
| Alisha: Last is a linking verb, which in this case means something like "am" or "is." |
| Kaori: です |
| Alisha: Together it’s… |
| Kaori: ポートランドしゅっしんです。 |
| Alisha: “I’m from Portland.” Because it's clear that Mark is talking about his hometown, he omits the expression for “I.” |
| Kaori: わたしは |
| Alisha: In some cases, though, you may need to add it to the beginning of the sentence. So, basically, the structure is, |
| Kaori: わたしは… |
| Alisha: place |
| Kaori: しゅっしんです。 |
| Alisha: Now you try! Imagine your hometown is London. What would you say? |
| (pause) |
| Kaori: わたしはロンドンしゅっしんです。 |
| Alisha: “I’m from London.” Now, imagine your hometown is Tokyo. What would you say? |
| Kaori: わたしはとうきょうしゅっしんです。 |
| Alisha: “I’m from Tokyo.” OK, there's another way of saying "I'm from Tokyo." |
| Kaori: しゅっしんはとうきょうです。 |
| Alisha: First is the word for hometown. |
| Kaori: しゅっしん |
| Alisha: Next is the topic-marking particle. |
| Kaori: は |
| Alisha: And next is the city. |
| Kaori: とうきょう |
| Alisha: Last is the linking verb, which in this case means "is." |
| Kaori: です |
| Alisha: Together it’s… |
| Kaori: しゅっしんはとうきょうです。 |
| Alisha: "As for my home town, Tokyo is." In English, "I'm from Tokyo." If you want to place emphasis on the "my" in "MY hometown", you can say… |
| Kaori: わたしのしゅっしん |
| Alisha: Instead of just… |
| Kaori: しゅっしん |
| Alisha: This isn't necessary when it's clear that you're talking about YOUR hometown, and in most cases, there's no need to emphasize the "my.” When it is necessary, though, the phrase for "my" comes first. |
| Kaori: わたしの |
| Alisha: The usual sentence structure, then, is… |
| Kaori: しゅっしんは |
| Alisha: place |
| Kaori: です。 |
| Kaori: しゅっしんはとうきょうです。 |
| Alisha: Now, here's how to ask where someone is from. |
| Mark: しゅっしんはとうきょうですか。 |
| Alisha: This is almost the same as the expression we just learned. |
| Kaori: しゅっしんはとうきょうです。 |
| Alisha: The only difference is that at the end of the phrase, you need to add a question-marking particle. |
| Kaori: か |
| Alisha: Put this at the end of the sentence to turn it into a question. |
| Kaori: しゅっしんは とうきょうですか。 |
| Alisha: “Is your hometown Tokyo?” or “Are you from Tokyo?” |
| Alisha: The sentence structure is |
| Kaori: しゅっしんは |
| Alisha: place |
| Kaori: ですか。 |
| Alisha: Now it's your turn. Imagine you've met someone in New York. Ask if he's from New York. |
| Kaori: しゅっしんはニューヨークですか。 |
| Alisha: “Are you from New York?” |
| Alisha: Now, if you have no idea where someone's from, you can ask… |
| Kyoko: しゅっしんはどこですか。 |
| Alisha: "Where is your hometown?" or "Where are you from?" |
| Alisha: You can use the same sentence pattern as… |
| Kaori: しゅっしんはニューヨークですか。 |
| Alisha: Just replace… |
| Kaori: ニューヨーク |
| Alisha: with the word for "where.” |
| Kaori: どこ |
| Alisha: Together it’s… |
| Kaori: しゅっしんはどこですか。 |
| Alisha: “Where is your hometown?” Because the sentence is a question, the listener will understand that you're talking about his or her hometown. In Japanese, you don't have to say "Your hometown”… |
| Kaori: あなたのしゅっしん |
| Alisha: …but just "hometown.”” |
| Kaori: しゅっしん |
| Alisha: The sentence structure is… |
| Kaori: しゅっしんはどこですか。 |
| Alisha: Now you try! Imagine you've met a new friend in Tokyo. Ask her where she's from. |
| Kaori: しゅっしんはどこですか。 |
| Alisha: It turns out she's from Tokyo. Now she wants to know where you're from. |
| Alisha: Pretend you're from New York, and answer her question out loud. |
| Kaori: しゅっしんはどこですか。 |
| Kaori: しゅっしんはニューヨークです。 |
| Alisha: To simplify things, you can also just say… |
| Kaori: ニューヨークです。 |
| Alisha: …since it's clear you're answering a question about your hometown. |
| Practice |
| Risa: Now, it’s time to practice your new ability. |
| Alisha: You're at a party and meet a Japanese woman. After introducing yourselves, you want to talk about where you're from. Ready? Here we go. |
| Alisha: How do you ask someone if he or she is from Tokyo? |
| Kaori: しゅっしんはとうきょうですか。 |
| Alisha: You're asked by the woman where you're from. Answer her question. |
| Kyoko: しゅっしんは、どこですか。 |
| Kaori: しゅっしんは |
| Alisha: your hometown |
| Kaori: です。 |
| Mark: アメリカです。 |
| Alisha: Then, you're asked another question. |
| Kyoko: ニューヨークですか。 |
| Alisha: You're not from New York. How do you answer? |
| Kaori: いいえ、ちがいます。 |
| Alisha: Your hometown… |
| Kaori: しゅっしんです。 |
| Mark: いいえ、ちがいます。ポートランドしゅっしんです。 |
| Alisha: Great job! You’ll follow this same pattern many times. So be sure to practice it. |
Outro |
| Risa: じょうずにできました！ Now, watch the scene one more time. After that, use this pattern when you introduce yourself to people. Or practice in the comments. じゃまたね！ |
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