Learn how to navigate passport control
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Intro |
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| Risa: Imagine you're going through a passport control. And you have to answer important questions in Japanese. What will you say? こんにちは。りさです. Risa here. Navigating a passport desk in Japanese is easy. In this lesson, you’re going to learn how. Mark’s plane just arrived in Japan. Let’s watch. |
| Dialogue |
| Customs Agent: つぎの人、どうぞ。 |
| Customs Agent: パスポート、おねがいします。 |
| Mark: こんにちは。はい、どうぞ。 |
| Customs Agent: たいざいきかんは？ |
| Mark: 六しゅう間です。 |
| Customs Agent: ホテルはどこですか？ |
| Mark: ふじホテルです。 |
| Customs Agent: しごとですか、かんこうですか。 |
| Mark: しごとです。 |
| Customs Agent: はい、パスポートありがとうございました。 |
| Risa: Now with English. |
| Customs Agent: Next, please. |
| Customs Agent: Passport, please. |
| Mark: Hello. Here you are. |
| Customs Agent: How long will you stay? |
| Mark: For six weeks. |
| Customs Agent: Where is your hotel? |
| Mark: At the Fuji hotel. |
| Customs Agent: Is it for business or sightseeing? |
| Mark: I'm here on business. |
| Customs Agent: Okay. Thank you for the passport. |
| Vocab |
| Risa: Here are the keywords from the scene. |
| Mark: つぎ |
| Customs Agent: つぎ |
| Alisha: Next |
| Customs Agent: つぎ,つぎ |
| Mark: つぎ |
| Customs Agent: つぎ |
| Alisha: next |
| Customs Agent: つぎ,つぎ |
| Mark: 人 |
| Customs Agent: 人 |
| Alisha: person |
| Customs Agent: 人、人 |
| Mark: パスポート |
| Customs Agent: パスポート |
| Alisha: passport |
| Customs Agent: パスポート, パスポート |
| Mark: こんにちは |
| Customs Agent: こんにちは |
| Alisha: Hello |
| Customs Agent: こんにちは, こんにちは |
| Mark: たいざいきかん |
| Customs Agent: たいざいきかん |
| Alisha: length of stay |
| Customs Agent: たいざいきかん, たいざいきかん |
| Mark: ホテル |
| Customs Agent: ホテル |
| Alisha: hotel |
| Customs Agent: ホテル, ホテル |
| Mark: しごと |
| Customs Agent: しごと |
| Alisha: business |
| Customs Agent: しごと, しごと |
| Mark: かんこう |
| Customs Agent: かんこう |
| Alisha: sightseeing |
| Customs Agent: かんこう, かんこう |
| Key Phrases |
| Risa: Here are the key phrases from the scene. |
| Alisha: In the scene, what did Mark say when he handed his passport over to the immigration officer? |
| Mark: はい、どうぞ。 |
| Alisha: First is the word for "yes.” |
| Kaori: はい |
| Alisha: Next is a word for "please.” |
| Kaori: どうぞ |
| Alisha: Together, they make up a set phrase that means "here you are." |
| Kaori: はい、どうぞ。 |
| Alisha: Now you try! Say Mark's line after the immigration officer speaks. |
| Customs Agent: パスポート、おねがいします。 |
| Mark : はい、どうぞ。 |
| Alisha: In the scene, what did the immigration officer say when she handed the passport back to Mark? |
| Customs Agent: パスポート、ありがとうございました。 |
| Alisha: First is the word for "passport." |
| Kaori: パスポート |
| Alisha: Next is an expression meaning "thank you." |
| Kaori: ありがとうございました。 |
| Alisha: Together, it’s… |
| Kaori: パスポート、ありがとうございました。 |
| Alisha: “Thank you for your passport.” |
| Kaori: ありがとうございました |
| Alisha: … is the past tense of |
| Kaori: ありがとうございます。 |
| Alisha: You could say it both ways, but Japanese people often use the past tense to show gratitude for an action that has been completed. |
| Alisha: Now you try! After the immigration officer speaks, say her next line. |
| Customs Agent: はい。 |
| Customs Agent: パスポート、ありがとうございました。 |
Lesson focus |
| Risa: Now, the lesson focus. Here’s how to navigate a passport control. Ready? |
| Alisha: Do you remember what the first question the immigration officer asked Mark in the video was? |
| Customs Agent: たいざいきかんは？ |
| Alisha: First is a word meaning "length of stay." |
| Kaori: たいざいきかん, たいざいきかん, たいざいきかん. |
| Alisha: Next is the topic marking particle. |
| Kaori: は |
| Alisha: Please note that you need to say this with a rising intonation in order to make it a question. A literal translation might be, "The length of stay is?" It's as if the immigration officer is leaving the second part of the sentence blank for you to fill it in with the length of your stay. |
| Kaori: たいざいきかんは？ |
| Alisha: One possible answer to this question is a sentence meaning something like "It's for six weeks." |
| Kaori: 六しゅう間です。 |
| Alisha: First is a phrase meaning, "for six weeks." |
| Kaori: 六しゅう間, 六しゅう間, 六しゅう間 |
| Alisha: “for six weeks” |
| Alisha: Add… |
| Kaori: です |
| Alisha: …at the end to make it a complete sentence, meaning "It's for six weeks." |
| Kaori: 六しゅう間です。 |
| Alisha: In this case, the pronoun "it" indicates "the length of stay" but you don't have to say the Japanese word here. Just say… |
| Kaori: 六しゅう間です。 |
| Alisha: The sentence structure to answer the question… |
| Kaori: たいざいきかんは？ |
| Alisha: …or "How long is your stay?" is… |
| Alisha: number of weeks or days. |
| Kaori: かん です。 |
| Alisha: Imagine you're going to stay for two weeks. Answer the question. |
| Kaori: たいざいきかんは？ |
| Kaori: にしゅう間です。 |
| Alisha: Do you remember the second question the immigration officer asked Mark in the scene? |
| Customs Agent: ホテルはどこですか。 |
| Alisha: First is the word for "hotel." |
| Kaori: ホテル, ホテル, ホテル |
| Alisha: Next is the topic marking particle. |
| Kaori: は |
| Alisha: After this, is the word for "where." |
| Kaori: どこ |
| Alisha: Next is a linking verb “to be”, which, in this case, means "is." |
| Kaori: です |
| Alisha: Last is the question marking particle. |
| Kaori: か |
| Alisha: Together, it's |
| Kaori: ホテルはどこですか。 |
| Alisha: “Where is your hotel?” You can answer this question by saying your |
| hotel name and… |
| Kaori: です。 |
| Kaori: ふじホテルです。 |
| Alisha: A literal translation might be, "Fuji Hotel is," but it's the natural way of answering that you're staying at Fuji Hotel. |
| Alisha: The sentence structure to answer the question, |
| Kaori: ホテルはどこですか？ |
| Alisha: …or "Where will you stay?" is your hotel name. |
| Kaori: です。 |
| Alisha: Imagine you will be staying at the Tokyo Hilton Hotel. Answer the question. |
| Kaori: ホテルはどこですか？ |
| Kaori: とうきょうヒルトンホテルです。 |
| Alisha: Do you remember the third question the immigration officer asked Mark in the scene? |
| Customs Agent: しごとですか。かんこうですか。 |
| Alisha: This question is about Mark's "purpose of stay" |
| Kaori: たいざいもくてき |
| Alisha: First, here is the word for "stay." |
| Kaori: たいざい、たいざい、たいざい |
| Alisha: Next is the word for purpose. |
| Kaori: もくてき、もくてき、もくてき |
| Alisha: Together, they mean "purpose of stay." |
| Kaori: たいざいもくてき |
| Alisha: So an extended version of the immigration officer's question would be, "Is the purpose of your stay business? Or sightseeing?” |
| Kaori: たいざいもくてきは、しごとですか。かんこうですか。 |
| Alisha: First, is a phrase meaning "purpose of stay." |
| Kaori: たいざいもくてき |
| Alisha: Next is the topic marking particle. |
| Kaori: は |
| Alisha: After this is the word for "business." |
| Kaori: しごと、しごと、しごと |
| Alisha: Next is a linking verb, which, in this case, means "is." |
| Kaori: です |
| Alisha: And last is the question marking particle. |
| Kaori: か |
| Alisha: Together, this sentence means "Is the purpose of your stay business?" |
| Kaori: たいざいもくてきは、しごとですか。 |
| Alisha: Or you can naturally translate it as "Are you here on business"? |
| Alisha: After this comes another question, meaning "Is it sightseeing?" |
| Kaori: かんこうですか。 |
| Alisha: This uses the same pattern as the expression meaning, “is it business?” |
| Kaori: しごとですか。 |
| Alisha: So the full sentence would be… |
| Kaori: たいざいもくてきはかんこうですか。 |
| Alisha: But, the first part… |
| Kaori: たいざいもくてきは |
| Alisha: …is dropped here. First is a word meaning "Sightseeing.” |
| Kaori: かんこう, かんこう、かんこう |
| Alisha: In this pattern it becomes… |
| Kaori: かんこうですか。 |
| Alisha: “Is the purpose of stay sightseeing?” Or, more naturally in English, "Are you here for sightseeing?" |
| Alisha: Also, note that between the two question sentences… |
| Kaori: しごとですか。かんこうですか。 |
| Alisha: …the conjunction "or" is not used. |
| Kaori: しごとですか。かんこうですか。 |
| Alisha: "Is the purpose of your stay business or sightseeing?" Or "Are you here on business or for sightseeing?" |
| Alisha: If your trip is for business, you would say… |
| Kaori: しごとです。 |
| Alisha: A literal translation of this would simply be "business is," but it's the natural way of saying "I'm here on business." Now you try! Imagine your trip is for sightseeing. |
| Answer the question. |
| Kaori: しごとですか。かんこうですか。 |
| Kaori: かんこうです。 |
| Alisha: An immigration officer might also say... |
| Kaori: たいざいもくてきは？ |
| Alisha: …meaning "the purpose of your stay is?" It's the |
| same structure as the first question. |
| Kaori: たいざいきかんは？ |
| Alisha: So, just as if you're filling in the second part of the sentence, you can answer by saying your purpose and… |
| Kaori: です. |
| Alisha: Now you try! Imagine you're visiting Japan on business. Answer the question Kaori: たいざいもくてきは？ |
| Kaori: しごとです。 |
| Practice |
| Risa: Now, it’s time to practice your new abillity. |
| Alisha: You've arrived to Japan and are about to go through passport control. Ready? Here we go. The immigration officer asks you to show her your passport. What do you say when you give your passport to her? |
| Kaori: はい、どうぞ。 |
| Alisha: How do you answer the question, “how long will you stay?” |
| Alisha:Alisha: number of weeks. |
| Kaori: です。 |
| Mark: 六しゅう間です。 |
| Alisha: How do you answer the question, where will you stay? |
| Alisha: your hotel name |
| Kaori: です。 |
| Mark: ふじホテルです。 |
| Alisha: You're on business in Japan. How do you answer the question, “what's the purpose of your stay?” |
| Mark: しごとです。 |
| Alisha: Great job! You’ll follow the same pattern many times, so be sure to practice it. |
Outro |
| Risa: よくできました！ Now, watch the scene one more time. After that, try out these phrases next time when you come to Japan. Or practice with us in the comments. じゃまたね！ |
| Dialogue |
| Customs Agent: つぎの人、どうぞ。 |
| Customs Agent: パスポート、おねがいします。 |
| Mark: こんにちは。はい、どうぞ。 |
| Customs Agent: たいざいきかんは？ |
| Mark: 六しゅう間です。 |
| Customs Agent: ホテルはどこですか？ |
| Mark: ふじホテルです。 |
| Customs Agent: しごとですか、かんこうですか。 |
| Mark: しごとです。 |
| Customs Agent: はい、パスポートありがとうございました。 |
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