Learn how to get seated at a lunch meeting with your clients
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Intro |
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| Risa: You're going to a restaurant with your boss. Did you know that it's considered rude to take a certain seat? こんにちは。りさです. Risa here. The rules for seating position in Japan are easy to learn -- once you know they exist. In this lesson, you'll learn how. Mark and his boss are going to a business dinner. Let's watch! |
| Dialogues |
| (Mark and his boss, Mr. Sano came in to a Japanese restaurant to have a lunch meeting with their clients, and a female restaurant staff is welcoming them. ) |
| Woman: いらっしゃいませ。 |
| Mark: タッガートです。12時に４名で予約しました。 |
| Woman: お待ちしておりました。こちらへどうぞ。 |
| Woman: こちらでございます。 |
| Mark: 靴は、ここで脱ぎますか。 |
| Woman: はい、お願いします。 |
| Risa: Now with English translation. |
| Woman: Welcome. May I help you? |
| Mark: I'm Taggart, and reserved a room for 4 people at 12:00. |
| Woman: We've been expecting you. This way, please. |
| Woman: Here is your room. |
| Mark: Should I take off my shoes here? |
| Woman: Yes, please. |
| Vocab |
| Risa: Here are the key words and phrases you need. |
| Mark: 名 |
| Risa: 名 |
| Alisha: people |
| Risa: 名, 名, 名 |
| Mark: 予約する |
| Risa: 予約する |
| Alisha: to reserve |
| Risa: 予約する, 予約する, 予約する |
| Mark: ここ |
| Risa: ここ |
| Alisha: here |
| Risa: ここ, ここ, ここ |
| Mark: 脱ぐ |
| Risa: 脱ぐ |
| Alisha: to take off clothes, to undress |
| Risa: 脱ぐ, 脱ぐ, 脱ぐ |
| Mark: 靴 |
| Risa: 靴 |
| Alisha: shoes |
| Risa: 靴, 靴, 靴 |
| Mark: こちら |
| Risa: こちら |
| Alisha: this is, here is |
| Risa: こちら, こちら, こちら |
| Key Phrases |
| Risa: Here are the key phrases from the scene. |
| Alisha: In the scene, how did Mark tell the restaurant staff that he had a reservation for four people at 12 o'clock? |
| Mark: 12時に４名で予約しました。 |
| Risa: 12時に、12時に、 12時に |
| Alisha: “at 12 o'clock.” |
| Risa: に |
| Alisha: is a particle marking time, equivalent to "at.” |
| Risa: 4名で、4名で、、4名で |
| Alisha: “for four people.” |
| Risa: 名 |
| Alisha: is a counter for the number of people. And it's followed by a particle indicating amount, |
| Risa: で。 |
| Alisha: In this case it's equivalent to "for," so |
| Risa: 4名で |
| Alisha: means "for four people.” |
| Risa: 予約しました、予約しました、 予約しました |
| Alisha: "made a reservation" |
| Alisha: It's the formal past tense of a verb meaning "to make a reservation." |
| Risa: 予約する |
| Alisha: Altogether, we have… |
| Risa: 12時に４名で予約しました。 |
| Alisha: "I made a reservation for four people at 12 o'clock." |
| Alisha: In this case, the subject, "I," in Japanese |
| Risa: わたし |
| Alisha: is omitted because it's obvious. |
| Alisha: So, when you explain your reservation at a restaurant, you say at what time, for how many people, and |
| Risa: 予約しました。 |
| Alisha: For example, if you made a reservation for six people at 1 PM, you would say, |
| Risa: 1時に６人で予約しました。 |
| Alisha: Now you try! Say Mark's line. |
| Mark: タッガートです。 |
| Mark: 12時に４名で予約しました。 |
| Alisha: How did the restaurant staff welcome Mark and his boss? |
| Woman: お待ちしておりました。こちらへどうぞ。 |
| Risa: お待ちしておりました。お待ちしておりました。お待ちしておりました。 |
| Alisha: It's a very polite expression meaning "We've been expecting you." It's often used by restaurant staff or hotel staff to welcome guests. |
| Risa: お待ちして |
| Alisha: is the te-form of |
| Risa: お待ちする |
| Alisha: which is a humble version of a verb meaning "to wait," |
| Risa: 待つ |
| Alisha: The next, |
| Alisha: おりました |
| Risa: is also a humble form of the past tense of a verb meaning "to be," |
| Alisha: いました |
| Alisha: So, if you say it plainly, you could say |
| Risa: 待っていました。 |
| Alisha: In this context, the restaurant employee is supposed to use the humble expression, |
| Risa: お待ちしておりました, |
| Alisha: to show their respect to their customers. |
| Alisha: The next expression she said is |
| Risa: こちらへどうぞ。こちらへどうぞ。こちらへどうぞ。 |
| Alisha: It's a polite expression meaning "this way, please." It's often used to show someone the way. In this expression, an honorific word for "this" or "here" is used, which is |
| Risa: こちら、こちら、こちら |
| Alisha: It's followed by a particle marking direction, |
| Risa: へ |
| Alisha: and |
| Risa: どうぞ |
| Alisha: "please." |
| Risa: こちらへどうぞ。 |
| Alisha: “This way, please.” |
| Alisha: Now you try! Say the restaurant employee's line. |
| Mark: 12時に４名で予約しました。 |
| Woman: お待ちしておりました。こちらへどうぞ。 |
| Alisha: What did the restaurant employee say when she showed them to their room? |
| Woman: こちらでございます。 |
| Risa: こちらでございます。こちらでございます。 |
| Alisha: It's a very polite expression to mean, "here you are" or "this is the room for you." In this expression, another honorific expression is used, which is, |
| Risa: でございます。 |
| Alisha: It's the honorific form of the linking verb, |
| Risa: です |
| Alisha: which means "to be." |
| Risa: でございます、でございます、でございます。 |
| Alisha: So, the sentence |
| Risa: こちらでございます |
| Alisha: is an honorific version of a sentence, |
| Risa: ここです。 |
| Risa: ここです。 |
| Alisha: is a common expression you can use when you show someone to a certain place and want to say "here you are." |
| Alisha: When you want to say it more politely, you say… |
| Risa: こちらでございます |
| Alisha: Now you try! Say the employee's line. |
| Ben: こちらでございます。 |
| Alisha: How did Mark ask if he needs to take off his shoes at a certain place? |
| Ben: 靴は、ここで脱ぎますか。 |
| Risa: 靴は、ここで脱ぎますか。靴は、ここで脱ぎますか。靴は、ここで脱ぎますか。 |
| Alisha: “Should I take off my shoes here?” |
| Risa: 靴 |
| Alisha: "shoes" |
| Risa: は |
| Alisha: topic marking particle. You could use the object marking particle instead, but in this case, using the topic marking particle would sound more natural, because you can clarify that you are going to talk about "shoes." |
| Risa: ここ |
| Alisha: here or this place |
| Risa: で |
| Alisha: place marking particle, and equivalent to "at" |
| Risa: 脱ぎます |
| Alisha: masu-form of a verb meaning "to take off,” |
| Risa: 脱ぐ |
| Alisha: and |
| Risa: か |
| Alisha: question marking particle. |
| Alisha: Altogether we have, |
| Risa: 靴は、ここで脱ぎますか。 |
| Alisha: Literally means "as for shoes, will I take off here?" It naturally means, "should I take off my shoes here?" |
| Alisha: In Japanese, you can use non-past tense of a verb to express a future event. So, you can use the non-past tense, |
| Risa: 脱ぎます。 |
| Alisha: Now you try! Say Mark's line after the employee’s line. |
| Woman: こちらでございます。 |
| Mark: 靴は、ここで脱ぎますか。 |
Lesson focus |
| Risa: Now, the lesson focus. Here are the rules of sitting position in Japan. |
| Alisha: Japanese companies often use Japanese-style restaurants to host company parties or meetings with their clients. In many cases, a Japanese style restaurant has a traditional Japanese-style room. |
| Risa: 座敷。 |
| Alisha: It has a floor covered by a straw mat, |
| Risa: 畳。 |
| Alisha: If you have a chance to attend a party in a Japanese style room, the most important thing to know is to take off your shoes when you enter the |
| Risa: 座敷。 |
| Alisha: Once you’ve entered the... |
| Risa: 座敷, |
| Alisha: …how do you know where to sit at the table? It all depends on your relative seniority. |
| Alisha: If you are the most senior person, you will take the "seat of honor" |
| Risa: 上座 |
| Alisha: The seat of honor is located in front of an alcove called the |
| Risa: 床の間 |
| Alisha: with a vase of flowers and a drawing or painting on the wall. |
| Alisha: If you are the most junior person, you will take “the lowest seat" |
| Risa: 下座 |
| Alisha: which is located nearest to the entrance. |
| Alisha: That area is normally busy with restaurant staff and not very quiet. That's why the most junior person or the party organizer takes the... |
| Risa: 下座 |
| Alisha: so that he or she can take care of food and drink orders or other errands. |
| Alisha: If it's a room for four people, each seat is ranked like this. |
| Alisha: In the scene, Mr. Sano took the seat across from the |
| Risa: 上座 |
| Alisha: Which is seat number 3. Because they will be meeting their clients, the superior of the clients is supposed to take |
| Risa: 上座 |
| Alisha: the "seat of honor," seat number 1. |
| Alisha: As the company's counterpart, Mr. Sano is supposed to take seat number 3. |
| Alisha: Then the junior of the clients will take seat number 2. |
| Alisha: and Mark took the |
| Risa: 下座 |
| Alisha: which is seat number 4, because he is the most junior person in this group. |
| Alisha: The... |
| Risa: 上座 |
| Aisha: and… |
| Risa: 下座 |
| Alisha: can be seen in other situations, such as in a taxi or in an elevator. |
| Alisha: In a taxi, |
| Risa: 上座 |
| Alisha: is the seat behind the driver's seat, and |
| Risa: 下座 |
| Alisha: is the passenger's seat. |
| Alisha: In an elevator, |
| Risa: 下座 |
| Alisha: is in front of the operation panel, so the most junior person is supposed to take care of pressing the buttons. Then the… |
| Risa: 上座 |
| Alisha: is behind the |
| Risa: 下座。 |
| Practice |
| Risa: Now it's time to practice your new ability. |
| Alisha: You've arranged a lunch meeting with your clients at a Japanese restaurant. Ready? Here we go. |
| Alisha: You see one of the restaurant staff welcoming you. How do you tell her that you made a reservation for 4 people at 12 o'clock? |
| Risa: 12時に４名で予約しました。 |
| Alisha: The restaurant employee showed you to a Japanese style room, and you are not sure what to do with your shoes. How do you ask? |
| Risa: 靴は、ここで脱ぎますか。 |
| Alisha: You are now in the Japanese style room, and you have the lowest seniority in your group. Which seat should you sit in? |
| Alisha: The correct seat is here. Because it's the nearest the entrance, it's the seat for the most junior person, |
| Risa: 下座 |
| Alisha: Great job! |
| Risa: 12時に４名で予約しました。 |
| Risa: 靴は、ここで脱ぎますか。 |
| Risa: 下座 |
Outro |
| Risa: よくできました！ Now, watch the scene one more time. After that, you're ready to participate in this important part of company culture. じゃまたね！ |
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