Learn how to talk about something you've heard
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky:Hi everyone! Welcome back to JapanesePod101.com. This is Japanese for Everyday Life, Lower Intermediate Series, Lesson 21 - Talking About What You’ve Heard. |
| Kaori:こんにちは！古橋香織 です！Hi everyone, Kaori Furuhashi here! |
| Becky:I'm Becky. In this lesson, you'll learn a useful skill for water-cooler chat – How to tell someone something you heard. |
| Kaori:Becky さん、聞いた話（E- what you heard) とかうわさ話（E- rumor) を職場の同僚（E- co-workers) や友達に伝えたりすることって、ありますよね。 |
| Becky:Yes, just a while ago, I heard that my friend Mary was getting married, and I told my other friend. |
| Kaori:「メアリーが結婚するそうですよ。」と言えばいいですね。 |
| Becky:"I hear that Mary is getting married." So, you can use a phrase meaning “I hear that”, which is |
| Kaori:そうだ or そうです |
| Kaori:でも、最初に、「メアリーのこと、聞きました？」と言うと、うまく話しを始められますよ。メアリーのこと、聞きました？ |
| Becky:"Did you hear about Mary?" That’s a good question to start with before telling what you heard about her. |
| Kaori:メアリーのこと、聞きました？ |
| MODEL DIALOG |
| Becky:Listen to the dialogue and participate when prompted by speaking aloud in Japanese. Use the patterns of Japanese you studied in the Beginner-level lessons. After you speak, you'll hear a model line of dialogue. Your answer doesn't need to be exactly the same, but do compare your response to the model line. |
| In this lesson, you'll play the role of a person who is telling what you heard. Your goal is to tell your co-worker what you heard about another co-worker. |
| Becky: You're taking a short break with your co-worker. Ask him “Did you hear about Mr. Tanaka?” |
| You : 田中さんのこと、聞きました？ |
| Co-worker: え？なんですか？ |
| Becky: He said “Oh? what is it?” Say, “I hear that he's getting married next month.” |
| (pause) |
| You: 来月結婚するそうですよ。 |
| Co-worker: え、そうなんですか。知りませんでした。 |
| Becky: He said “Wow, is that so? I didn’t know that.” Say, “I hear that the person he's getting married to is from Hokkaido.” |
| (pause) |
| You: お相手は、北海道の人だそうですよ。 |
| Co-worker: あ～それで、よく、北海道のお土産のお菓子をくれたんですね。 |
| Becky: He said “Oh, that’s why he often gives us snacks from Hokkaido as a souvenir.” |
| VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Becky:Here are some useful phrases or expressions you can use as a reaction when you didn’t know about something you’ve just heard. |
| The first expression is, |
| Kaori:そうなんですか。(rising intonation) |
| Becky:"Is that so?" |
| Kaori:そうなんですか (slow), そうなんですか。 |
| Becky:When you say it with a rising intonation, you can express your surprise. Also, you can say it with a falling intonation as a supportive reaction. |
| Kaori:そうなんですか。(falling intonation) |
| Becky:A casual version is, |
| Kaori: そうなの？ |
| Kaori:もっと驚いたときは、「本当？」が使えます。 |
| Becky:"Really?" Next is, |
| Kaori:知りませんでした。 |
| Becky:"I didn’t know that." Its informal version is, |
| Kaori:知らなかった。 |
| Becky:Here are a few more expressions you can use when you already knew what you’ve just heard. |
| Kaori:そうらしいですね。 |
| Becky:It literally means “I heard so.” Naturally, it’s “Looks like it.” Its casual version is, |
| Kaori:そうらしいね。 or らしいね。 |
| Becky:You could also say |
| Kaori:そうみたいですね。 |
| Becky:"Looks like it." Its casual version is, |
| Kaori: そうみたいだね or みたいだね。 |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky:Now, this task requires a key question, "Did you hear about Mr. Tanaka?” |
| Kaori:田中さんのこと、聞きました？ |
| Becky:A complete version of this question would be, |
| Kaori:田中さんのことを聞きましたか？ |
| Kaori:会話では、目的語を表す「を」と、疑問を表す「か」は、省略することが多いですね。 |
| Becky:In conversation, the object marking particle (J- を） and the question marking particle (J- か）are often omitted. |
| Kaori:田中さんのこと、聞きました？ |
| Becky:The first part is the phrase "about Mr. Tanaka" |
| Kaori:田中さんのこと |
| Becky:Literally it means “things of Mr. Tanaka”, but it’s used to mean “about Mr. Tanaka.” |
| Becky:The structure of the question, “Did you hear about (Topic)” is, |
| Kaori: トピック (E- plus) のこと (E- plus) 聞きました？ |
| Becky: Let’s practice. Ask, “Did you hear about Mr. Suzuki?” |
| (Pause) |
| Kaori:鈴木さんのこと、聞きました？ |
| Kaori:「鈴木さんの話、知ってますか？」でもいいです。 |
| Becky:"Did you know about Mr. Suzuki?" |
| Kaori:「聞きました？」の代わりに、「知ってますか？」とか、「知ってます？」も使えます。 |
| Becky:In casual conversation, you can say, |
| Kaori:鈴木さんのこと、聞いた？or 鈴木さんのこと、知ってる？ |
| Becky:Ask casually, “Did you hear about Ken?” |
| (Pause) |
| Kaori:ケンのこと、聞いた？ or ケンのこと、知ってる？ |
| Becky: The next key expression for this task is, “I hear that he's getting married next month.” |
| Kaori:来月結婚するそうですよ。 |
| Becky:The first part of this sentence is a phrase meaning “He's getting married.” |
| Kaori:「来月結婚する」 ここでは、主語の「彼」が、省略されていますね。 |
| Becky:The subject, “he” is omitted here in Japanese. |
| Becky:The next part is a phrase meaning “I hear that” |
| Kaori:そうです |
| Becky:and it’s followed by a sentence-ending particle to indicate your certainty |
| Kaori:よ |
| Becky:Altogether, they are, |
| Kaori:来月結婚するそうですよ。 |
| Becky:The sentence structure using (J- そうです）is [informal form of a verb] or [adjective] plus (J- そうです）. |
| Becky:Say, "I hear that he's going to Japan." |
| （Pause) |
| Kaori:彼は、日本に行くそうです。 |
| Becky:Say, "I hear that the car is very expensive." |
| （Pause) |
| Kaori:その車はとても高いそうです。 |
| Becky:Next, let’s practice responding to what you heard. |
| Becky:Your friend tells you that one of your friends is getting married. Say, “Is that so?” |
| (Pause) |
| Kaori:そうなの？ |
| Becky:Say, “I didn’t know that.” |
| (Pause) |
| Kaori:知らなかった。 |
| Becky:If you knew about it, you say, “It looks like it.” |
| (Pause) |
| Kaori:そうらしいね。 |
| Becky:You could also say |
| Kaori:らしいね。 そうみたいだね。 みたいだね。 |
| Tip |
| Becky:Lastly, let's take a look at the expression you can use when you understand why something is or has been happening, as in “That’s why he often gives us snacks from Hokkaido as a souvenir.” |
| Kaori:それで、よく北海道のお土産のお菓子をくれたんですね。 |
| Becky:The sentence pattern to say “That’s why A” is, |
| Kaori:それで、Aだったんですね。 |
| Becky:The first word is “that” |
| Kaori:それ |
| Becky:The next word is a particle indicating a reason |
| Kaori:で |
| Kaori:それで |
| Becky:"because of that," |
| Becky:The next part is （J- A だった） meaning “he often gives us snacks from Hokkaido as a souvenir.” |
| Kaori:彼がよく北海道のお土産のお菓子をくれた |
| Becky:In this case, the phrase indicating the subject, "he" (J- 彼が）is omitted here, as it’s clear from the context. |
| Becky:Altogether, it gives us, |
| Kaori:それでよく北海道のお土産のお菓子をくれた |
| Becky:It's followed by a sentence-ending phrase to explain the reason or situation |
| Kaori:んです |
| Becky: and a sentence-ending particle to indicate a mild opinion. |
| Kaori:ね |
| Becky:The whole sentence meaning “That’s why he often gives us snacks from Hokkaido as a souvenir.” is |
| Kaori:それでよく北海道のお土産のお菓子をくれたんですね。 |
| Becky:Let’s practice. You heard something from your co-worker, and now understand why he has been taking days off a lot recently. What do you say? |
| (Pause) |
| Kaori:それで、最近よく休んでいたんですね。 |
| PRACTICE OF DIALOG |
| Becky:Now try to participate in the dialogue using some alternative words you learned in this lesson. Use as many of the expressions you learned in this lesson as possible. Let's get started! |
| Becky: You're talking with your co-worker. Ask him “Did you hear about Mr. Sato?” |
| You : 佐藤さんのこと、聞きました？ |
| Co-worker: え？なんですか？ |
| Becky: He said “Oh? what is it?” Say, “I hear that he's going to America next month.” |
| (pause) |
| You: 来月アメリカに行くそうですよ。 |
| Co-worker: え、そうなんですか。知りませんでした。 |
| Becky: He said “Wow, is that so? I didn’t know that.” Say, “I hear that he's going to work at our New York branch office.” |
| (pause) |
| You: ニューヨーク支社で働くそうですよ。 |
| Co-worker: あ～それで、よく、ニューヨーク支社と電話していたんですね。 |
| Becky: He said “Oh, that’s why he has been calling our New York branch office a lot.” |
| Becky:How did you do? There are actually a large number of variations you can use in this situation. Make sure to look for them in the lesson notes. |
Outro |
| Becky:Okay, That’s all for this lesson. |
| Kaori:友達や同僚のことについて聞いた話を、他の人に話したことはありますか。コメント欄で教えてくださいね。 |
| Becky:In the next lesson, you’ll learn how to tell someone what you're calling about on the phone. |
| Kaori:それではまた！ |
| Becky:See you all next time! |
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