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| INTRODUCTION |
| Jessi: What You Don't Eat at Home, You Might Eat in Japan! |
| Naomi: なおみです。 (Naomi desu.) |
| Rebecca: Rebecca here. |
| Naomi: こんにちは、みなさん。こんにちは、レベッカさん。お元気ですか。 |
| (Kon'nichiwa, mina san. Kon'nichiwa, Rebekka san. O genki desu ka.) |
| Rebecca: 元気ですよ。 (Genki desu yo.) Hello everyone. こんにちは、なおみ先生。 (Kon'nichiwa, Naomi sensei.) What’s today’s target grammar? |
| Naomi: 今日は (Kyō wa ) particle は(wa) です (desu)。 |
| Rebecca: Okay, so today we are going to look at the use of the particle wa. |
| Naomi: Contrastive usage of wa like では (de wa), へは (e wa), or とは (to wa). |
| Rebecca: So you are going to look at the contrastive use of wa with other particles. Today’s conversation is between three colleagues. |
| Naomi: そうですね。北川冬果さん、南 夏見さん、それからファブリツィオです。 (sō desu ne. Kitagawa fuyu hate san, Minami Natsumi san, sorekara faburizio desu.) |
| Rebecca: Okay and they are work colleagues. So we will be hearing polite Japanese right? |
| Naomi: はい、そうです。 (Hai, sō desu.) |
| Rebecca: Okay, so what are they talking about? |
| Naomi: I think they are talking about Shikoku. |
| Rebecca: Well as you already know, Japan consists of four major islands and Shikoku is one of them. |
| Naomi: And they are also talking about Japanese food. So please try to catch the name of the food. |
| Rebecca: Okay let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 北川 冬果: あ、そうそう、南さん。私、来週、会社を 休みます。実家へ 帰りま す。 |
| (Fuyuka: A, sō sō, Minami-san. Watashi, raishū, kaisha o yasumimasu. Jikka e kaeri ma su.) |
| 南 夏見: あー、そうですよね。冬果さんの出身は どこですか。 |
| (Minami Natsumi: Ā, sō desu yo ne. Fuyu hate san no shusshin wa doko desu ka.) |
| 北川 冬果: 四国の高松です。四国のうどんは おいしいですよ。私は東京では う どんを食べませんが、四国では 毎日うどんを 食べます。 |
| (Fuyuka: Shikoku no Takamatsu desu. Shikoku no udon wa oishii desu yo. Watashi wa Tōkyōde wa u don o tabemasen ga, Shikoku dewa mainichi udon o tabemasu.) |
| ファブリツィオ: ワオ。偶然ですね。来週、私も 四国へ 行きます。高松へは 行きませんが、松山へは 行きます。 |
| (Fabrizio: Wao. Gūzen desu ne. Raishū, watashi mo Shikoku e ikimasu. Takamatsu he wa ikimasen ga, Matsuyama he wa ikimasu.) |
| Naomi: もう一度おねがいします。今度はゆっくりお願いします。 (Mōichido onegai shimasu. Kondo wa yukkuri onegaishimasu.) |
| 北川 冬果: あ、そうそう、南さん。私、来週、会社を 休みます。実家へ 帰りま す。 |
| (Fuyuka: A, sō sō, Minami-san. Watashi, raishū, kaisha o yasumimasu. Jikka e kaeri ma su.) |
| 南 夏見: あー、そうですよね。冬果さんの出身は どこですか。 |
| (Minami Natsumi: Ā, sō desu yo ne. Fuyu hate san no shusshin wa doko desu ka.) |
| 北川 冬果: 四国の高松です。四国のうどんは おいしいですよ。私は東京では う どんを食べませんが、四国では 毎日うどんを 食べます。 |
| (Fuyuka: Shikoku no Takamatsu desu. Shikoku no udon wa oishii desu yo. Watashi wa Tōkyōde wa u don o tabemasen ga, Shikoku dewa mainichi udon o tabemasu.) |
| ファブリツィオ: ワオ。偶然ですね。来週、私も 四国へ 行きます。高松へは 行きませんが、松山へは 行きます。 |
| (Fabrizio: Wao. Gūzen desu ne. Raishū, watashi mo Shikoku e ikimasu. Takamatsu he wa ikimasen ga, Matsuyama he wa ikimasu.) |
| Naomi: 今度は英語が入ります。 (Kondo wa eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| 北川 冬果: あ、そうそう、南さん。私、来週、会社を 休みます。実家へ 帰りま す。 |
| (Fuyuka: A, sō sō, Minami-san. Watashi, raishū, kaisha o yasumimasu. Jikka e kaeri ma su.) |
| Fuyuka: Oh, that’s right, Minami-san. I’m taking next week off. I’m going back to my parents’ house. |
| 南 夏見: あー、そうですよね。冬果さんの出身は どこですか。 |
| (Minami Natsumi: Ā, sō desu yo ne. Fuyu hate san no shusshin wa doko desu ka.) |
| Natsumi: Oh, that’s right. What’s your hometown? |
| 北川 冬果: 四国の高松です。四国のうどんは おいしいですよ。私は東京では う どんを食べませんが、四国では 毎日うどんを 食べます。 |
| (Fuyuka: Shikoku no Takamatsu desu. Shikoku no udon wa oishii desu yo. Watashi wa Tōkyōde wa u don o tabemasen ga, Shikoku dewa mainichi udon o tabemasu.) |
| Fuyuka: Takamatsu in Shikoku. The udon in Shikoku is delicious! I don’t eat udon in Tokyo, but in Shikoku I eat it every day. |
| ファブリツィオ: ワオ。偶然ですね。来週、私も 四国へ 行きます。高松へは 行きませんが、松山へは 行きます。 |
| (Fabrizio: Wao. Gūzen desu ne. Raishū, watashi mo Shikoku e ikimasu. Takamatsu he wa ikimasen ga, Matsuyama he wa ikimasu.) |
| Fabrizio: Wow! What a coincidence. Next week I’m also going to Shikoku. I’m not going to Takamatsu, but I’m going to Matsuyama. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Rebecca: 四国のうどんは有名ですか。 (Shikoku no udon wa yūmeidesu ka.) |
| Naomi: Takamatsu, that’s the place where Fuyuka is from and Takamatsu is very famous for Udon. |
| Rebecca: I see, so 高松のうどんは有名ですね。 (Takamatsu no udon wa yūmeidesu ne.) So Takamatsu’s Udon is very famous. |
| Naomi: そうですね。 (sō desu ne.) And Takamatsu Udon is usually called 讃岐うどん (Sanuki Udon). |
| Rebecca: Oh is that where Sanuki Udon comes from? |
| Naomi: Takamatsu is in Kagawa Prefecture. The old name of Kagawa Prefecture is Sanuki. |
| Rebecca: Oh I didn’t know that. I have heard of Sanuki Udon but I had no idea that it was a place name. |
| Naomi: Have you ever tried it? |
| Rebecca: Yes I’ve tried it. Actually I think I had some for lunch the other day at my local 食堂 (shokudō). |
| Naomi: おいしいですか。 (Oishii desu ka.) |
| Rebecca: おいしいですね。はい。 (Oishii desu ne. Hai.) Is there also a type of Udon called Tanuki Udon? |
| Naomi: あー、たぬきうどんは (Ā, tanuki udon wa) |
| Rebecca: The batter from Tempura? |
| Naomi: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. |
| Rebecca: Because when I first heard that, I thought it had Tanuki in it. |
| Naomi: Oh Raccoon? |
| Rebecca: Yeah Tanuki means Raccoon. |
| Naomi: We don’t eat Raccoon! |
| Rebecca: What? And is it Kitsune Udon too? |
| Naomi: Yeah, きつねうどんね (Kitsune udon ne). |
| Rebecca: Fox noodles. |
| Naomi: Fox noodles but again we don’t eat Kitsune which is fox nor Raccoons. |
| Rebecca: So what’s in Kitsune Udon? |
| Naomi: きつねは (Kitsune wa)… It’s kind of like Fried Tofu. |
| Rebecca: I see. It’s not Fox? |
| Naomi: No. I think the color is yellowish. Brown. |
| Rebecca: I like the color of a fox. Okay, 勉強になりました (Benkyō ni narimashita). Thank you. That was very informative. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Rebecca: On to today’s vocab. |
| Naomi: 実家 (jikka) |
| Rebecca: One’s parents’ home. |
| Naomi: (slow) じっか (ji kka) (natural speed) 実家 (jikka) |
| Rebecca: Starting low and rising on the last syllable Ka. |
| Naomi: 実家 (jikka) |
| Rebecca: Next. |
| Naomi: 出身 (shusshin) |
| Rebecca: A person’s origin, their hometown, city and so on. |
| Naomi: (slow) しゅっしん (shusshin) (natural speed) 出身 (shusshin) |
| Rebecca: Starting low and rising on the second last syllable. |
| Naomi: 出身 (shusshin) |
| Rebecca: Next. |
| Naomi: 四国 (shikoku) |
| Rebecca: Shikoku, one of the four main islands of Japan. |
| Naomi: (slow) しこく (Shiko ku) (natural speed) 四国 (shikoku) |
| Rebecca: Starting low, rising on the second syllable Ko and falling on the last syllable Ku. |
| Naomi: 四国 (Shikoku). There is another pronunciation which is 四国 (shikoku). (slow) しこく (shiko ku) (natural speed) 四国 (shikoku) |
| Rebecca: Starting high and falling on the second syllable staying low |
| Naomi: 四国 (shikoku) |
| Rebecca: Next. |
| Naomi: 高松 (Takamatsu) |
| Rebecca: Takamatsu. Name of a city in Shikoku. |
| Naomi: (slow) たかまつ (Takamatsu) (natural speed) 高松 (Takamatsu) |
| Rebecca: Starting low, rising on the second syllable Ka and falling on the second to last syllable Ma. |
| Naomi: 高松 (Takamatsu) |
| Rebecca: Next. |
| Naomi: うどん (Udon) |
| Rebecca: Udon, Japanese wheat noodles |
| Naomi: (slow) うどん (Udon) (natural speed) うどん (Udon) |
| Rebecca: Starting low and rising on the second syllable Do staying high. |
| Naomi: うどん (Udon) |
| Rebecca: Next. |
| Naomi: おいしい (oishī) |
| Rebecca: Delicious, tasty. It’s an i adjective. |
| Naomi:(slow) おいしい (oishī) (natural speed) おいしい (oishī) |
| Rebecca: Starting low rising on the second syllable I falling on the last syllable I. |
| Naomi: おいしい (Oishī). If おいしい (oishī) comes before a noun, おいしい (oishī) becomes おいしい (oishī). おいしい (Oishī) |
| Rebecca: Starting low and rising on the second syllable I staying high. |
| Naomi: おいしい (oishī) |
| Rebecca: Next. |
| Naomi: 毎日 (mainichi) |
| Rebecca: Everyday. |
| Naomi: (slow) まいにち (mai ni chi) (natural speed) 毎日 (mainichi) |
| Rebecca: Starting high, falling on the second syllable E, staying low. |
| Naomi: 毎日 (mainichi) |
| Rebecca: Next. |
| Naomi: 食べます (tabemasu) |
| Rebecca: To eat. Masu form. |
| Naomi: (slow) たべます (tabemasu) (natural speed) 食べます (tabemasu) |
| Rebecca: Starting low, rising on the second syllable Be, falling on the last syllable Su. |
| Naomi:食べます (tabemasu) |
| Rebecca: Next. |
| Naomi: 偶然 (gūzen) |
| Rebecca: Coincidence, by chance. |
| Naomi: (slow) ぐうぜん (gūzen) (natural speed) 偶然 (gūzen) |
| Rebecca: Starting low, rising on the second syllable U staying high. |
| Naomi: 偶然 (gūzen) |
| Rebecca: Next. |
| Naomi: 来週 (raishū) |
| Rebecca: Next week. |
| Naomi: (slow) らいしゅう (rai shū) (natural speed) 来週 (raishū) |
| Rebecca: Starting low, rising on the second syllable I, staying high. |
| Naomi: 来週 (raishū) |
| Rebecca: Next. |
| Naomi: 松山 (Matsuyama) |
| Rebecca: Matsuyama , the name of a city in Shikoku. |
| Naomi: (slow) まつやま (Matsu ya ma) (natural speed) 松山 (Matsuyama) |
| Rebecca: Starting low, rising on the second syllable Tsu falling on the second to last syllable Ya and staying low. |
| Naomi: 松山 (Matsuyama) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Rebecca: Let’s have a look at the usage of some of the words in today’s dialogue. The first word we are going to look at is “raishū” which means next week. Naomi Sensei, can you explain the elements of the word raishū? |
| Naomi: The first kanji means “coming”, the second kanji means “week”. So raishū means “next week.” |
| Rebecca: The coming week. |
| Naomi: はい、 (Hai,) Coming week. |
| Rebecca: Alright. So let’s have a look at a sentence from the dialogue. |
| Naomi: 来週、私も 四国に 行きます。 (Raishū, watashi mo Shikoku ni ikimasu.) |
| Rebecca: I will also go to Shikoku next week. |
| Naomi: 来週 (raishū) |
| Rebecca: Next week. |
| Naomi:私 (watashi) |
| Rebecca: I or me but here it means I. |
| Naomi: も (mo) |
| Rebecca: To or also. We covered this one in Nihongo Dojo lesson 4. |
| Naomi: 四国 (Shikoku) |
| Rebecca: Shikoku. The name of a place. |
| Naomi: に (ni) |
| Rebecca: This is a particle which indicates place or time, and this one was covered in 23 and 24. |
| Naomi: 行きます (ikimasu) |
| Rebecca: To go. And so putting that all together, we have |
| Naomi: 来週、私も 四国に 行きます。 (Raishū, watashi mo Shikoku ni ikimasu.) |
| Rebecca: So literally this means “next week, I also Shikoku to go” and of course that means, “I will also go to Shikoku next week.” |
| Naomi: レベッカさん、来週、どこに行きますか。 (Rebekka-san, raishū, doko ni ikimasu ka.) |
| Rebecca: 来週？来週は大学に行きます。 (Raishū? Raishū wa daigaku ni ikimasu.) |
| Naomi: 大学は (Daigaku wa) “university”? |
| Rebecca: Yes, I will go to university next week. |
| Naomi: そうですか。頑張って下さい。 (sō desu ka. Ganbatte kudasai.) |
| Rebecca: なおみ先生も大学に行きますか。 (Naomi sensei mo daigaku ni ikimasu ka.) Will you be going to university too? |
| Naomi: いいえ、来週も私はジャパニーズポッドに来ます。 (Īe, raishū mo watashi wa japanīzupoddo ni kimasu.) |
| Rebecca: Okay so next week you will come to Japanese Pod just like this week. |
| Naomi: そうです。 (sō desu.) |
| Rebecca: Okay so now we are going to look at a very useful Japanese expression. |
| Naomi: そうそう! (Sō sō!) |
| Rebecca: そうそう。 (Sō sō.) Yes, that's right. It is そうそう (sō sō). You will hear this quite often in the Japanese conversation. |
| Naomi: そうそう (Sō sō). How do you translate Sō in English? |
| Rebecca: You can translate it with “Um” or “Yes” or “That’s right.”. |
| Naomi: そうそう (Sō sō) is like “Oh yes, yes.” or “That’s right.” |
| Rebecca: It’s the noise you make when you are listening to show that you are paying attention or you can use it to say that you agree with what the person is saying right. |
| Naomi: そうですね。 (sō desu ne.) |
| Rebecca: Like that. |
| Naomi: そうそう。そんな感じです。で、あの、 (Sō sō. Son'na kanjidesu. De, ano,) we often use it as a filler in a conversation. |
| Rebecca: Right yeah. It’s really important. Isn’t it in Japanese to show that you are paying attention? |
| Naomi: あいづち (aizuchi) is the one thing. |
| Rebecca: あいづち (aizuchi) yeah. |
| Naomi: レベッカさん、 (Rebekka san,) how do you say あいづち (aizuchi) in English? |
| Rebecca: Well actually I don’t think we have one word or one expression that covers あいづち (aizuchi) but it’s what you say when you are listening to show that you are paying attention or that you agree. Like saying “um” or “oh yeah” or “right” or it’s all those words. |
| Naomi: なるほど。 (Naruhodo.) |
| Rebecca: Actually there is an interesting phenomenon you might come across on Japanese TV. She is called the あいづち女 (aizuchi on’na). |
| Naomi: なんですか、それ。 (Nan desu ka, sore.) I have never heard the expression. |
| Rebecca: Well I think you will come across her on TV. She is a very pretty lady who stands next to the male host and says, “oh yes um that’s right” while he is talking about the main business of the day. |
| Naomi: なるほどね。 (Naruhodo ne.) |
| Rebecca: So あいづち女 (aizuchi on'na) is the あいづち (aizuchi) lady. |
| Naomi: あいづち (aizuchi) lady, いますね (imasu ne). I think I have seen many あいづち女 (aizuchi on'na) on the TV show. |
| Rebecca: Yeah, yeah. |
| Naomi: And sometimes I am in あいづち女 (aizuchi on'na) when I am doing the show with ピーターさん (Pītā san). |
| Rebecca: Uh well we wouldn’t tell him that. Will we? |
| Naomi: 「そうですね。ピーターさん、そうですよ。」 ('sō desu ne. Pītā san, sō desu yo.') |
| Rebecca: We need to find some あいづち男 (aizuchi otoko) don’t we? |
| Naomi: そうですね。あいづち男。 (sō desu ne. Aizuchi otoko.) |
| Rebecca: Let’s have a more thorough look at the grammar we used in this lesson. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Rebecca: What’s today’s target sentence? |
| Naomi: 高松へは 行きませんが、松山へは 行きます。 (Takamatsu he wa ikimasen ga, Matsuyama he wa ikimasu.) |
| Rebecca: ”I won’t go to Takamatsu but I will go to Matsuyama.” In today’s lesson, we are going to look at the constructive marker wa when it’s being used with another particle and we are also going to look at the use of the disjunctive particle Ga. Don’t worry. We will get into what these things actually mean in just a minute. First of all, let’s look at the contrastive particle は(wa). In the previous lesson, Style You and Beyond 1, we learned that wa replaces the object marker O to mark a contrastive element. I think the sentence in the last lesson was 私は (watashi wa). |
| Naomi: そうです、そうです。「映画はみます。でも、ホラー映画はみません。」 (sō desu, sō desu. 'Eiga wa mimasu. Demo, horā eiga wa mimasen.') |
| Rebecca: That’s right. So we took two sentences, the first sentence was. |
| Naomi: 映画をみます。 (Eiga o mimasu.) |
| Rebecca: And the next sentence was. |
| Naomi: ホラー映画をみません。 (Horā eiga o mimasen.) |
| Rebecca: In order to contrast these two sentences, we took out the O and we put in Wa and put a “demo” in the middle. |
| Naomi: 「でも」は？ ('Demo' wa?) |
| Rebecca: “But” |
| Naomi: そうです。 (sō desu.) |
| Rebecca: So basically what we came up with was “I watch movies but I don’t watch horror movies.” and the wa indicated the contrast. In today’s lesson, we are going to look at how Va can follow other particles such as to, or e, or de, or ni. |
| Naomi: 例えば、「東さんと映画へ行きます。」 (Tatoeba, 'higashisan to eiga e ikimasu.') |
| Rebecca: I will go to the movies with Higashi. |
| Naomi: 東さんと 映画へは 行きます。でも、うちへは 行きません。 (Azuma san to eiga e wa ikimasu. Demo, uchi e wa ikimasen.) |
| Rebecca: I will go to the movies with Higashi but I won’t go to his place. It sounds like a date, a first date maybe. |
| Naomi: そうですね。 (sō desu ne.) |
| Rebecca: Yeah. You are not seeing someone calling us just so at the moment. Are you? So in this sentence or in these two sentences, we can hear “eiga e wa” and “uchi e wa.” Ordinarily you just say “eiga e” or “uchi e” but here we are putting in a Wa to indicate contrast and it also – I guess it kind of emphasizes the contrast as well right. And in the middle of the two sentences is the word "demo” which we would then look at in a minute. Let’s look at another example sentence first. |
| Naomi: 私は銀座で 映画を みます。 (Watashi wa Ginza de eiga o mimasu.) |
| Rebecca: I see a movie in Ginza or I will see a movie in Ginza. |
| Naomi: 銀座では 映画を みます。でも、うちでは みません。 (Ginza dewa eiga o mimasu. Demo, uchide wa mimasen.) |
| Rebecca: I watch a movie in Ginza but not at home literally but I don’t watch a movie at home. |
| Naomi: 銀座では 映画を みます。でも、(Ginza dewa eiga o mimasu. Demo,) instead of this demo, you can put が(ga). |
| Rebecca: So both でも (demo) and が (ga) mean “but”. The difference between them is that with でも (demo), you start a new sentence or でも (demo) stops a sentence. が (ga) comes in the middle of the sentence and links two clauses. Let’s use でも (demo) and が (ga) in some example sentences. |
| Naomi: 私は映画は みます。でも、テレビは みません。 (Watashi wa eiga wa mimasu. Demo, terebi wa mimasen.) |
| Rebecca: I watch movies. But I don’t watch television. |
| Naomi: 私は映画は みますが、テレビは みません。 (Watashi wa eiga wa mimasuga, terebi wa mimasen.) |
| Rebecca: I watch movies, comma, but I don’t watch television. Same meaning, different punctuation. |
Outro |
| Rebecca: Okay so that’s all for today. |
| Naomi: そうですね。 (sō desu ne.) |
| Naomi: じゃあ、また。 (Jā, mata.) |
| Rebecca: じゃあ、またね。 (Jā, mata ne.) |
| DIALOGUE |
| 北川 冬果: あ、そうそう、南さん。私、来週、会社を 休みます。実家へ 帰りま す。 |
| (Fuyuka: A, sō sō, Minami-san. Watashi, raishū, kaisha o yasumimasu. Jikka e kaeri ma su.) |
| 南 夏見: あー、そうですよね。冬果さんの出身は どこですか。 |
| (Minami Natsumi: Ā, sō desu yo ne. Fuyu hate san no shusshin wa doko desu ka.) |
| 北川 冬果: 四国の高松です。四国のうどんは おいしいですよ。私は東京では う どんを食べませんが、四国では 毎日うどんを 食べます。 |
| (Fuyuka: Shikoku no Takamatsu desu. Shikoku no udon wa oishii desu yo. Watashi wa Tōkyōde wa u don o tabemasen ga, Shikoku dewa mainichi udon o tabemasu.) |
| ファブリツィオ: ワオ。偶然ですね。来週、私も 四国へ 行きます。高松へは 行きませんが、松山へは 行きます。 |
| (Fabrizio: Wao. Gūzendesu ne. Raishū, watashi mo Shikoku e ikimasu. Takamatsu he wa ikimasen ga, Matsuyama he wa ikimasu.) |
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Comments
HideMina-san, 大変お待たせいたしました！ Due to circumstances beyond our control, yesterday's Newbie Lesson is being released today. You might notice Ushijima-san's voice does not appear in the slow reading (instead Naomi-san's does). As soon as we can get her in the studio, we'll swap out the slow reading with the correct one for consistency. 申し訳ございません。では、切腹いたします。
こんにちは、Travisさん！😊
文法の質問ですね！がんばっていますね！(Bunpou no shitsumon desu ne! Ganbatteimasu ne! "You have a grammar question! You're doing great!")
Regarding your question about "が" and "でも," you're on the right track! Both are used to express contrast, but they are used in slightly different contexts:
1. "が" is often used within a single sentence to show contrast or contradiction between two clauses. It is more formal and is often used in written Japanese.
2. "でも" is used at the beginning of a new sentence to contrast with the previous sentence. It is more conversational and is commonly used in spoken Japanese.
Now, let's look at your sentences:
1. 私は午前には運動をしますが、午後には運動をしません。
"I exercise in the mornings, but not in the afternoon."
- This sentence is correct! You have used "が" appropriately to contrast the two actions within one sentence.
2. 私は市に電車では乗ります。でも市にバスではのりません。
"I travel to the city on train. However, I don’t ride to the city by bus."
- Here, you used "でも" correctly at the beginning of the second sentence to contrast with the first sentence.
Your understanding of the usage is excellent! Keep up the great work! よくできました！(Yoku dekimashita! "Well done!")
ありがとうございます！
Team JapanesePod101.com
こんいちは、JapanesePod101.comさん！
私は午前には運動をしますが、午後には運動をしません。"I exercise in the mornings, but not in the afternoon"
私は市に電車では乗ります。でも市にバスではのりません。"I travel to the city on train. However, I don't ride to the city by bus"
If I'm using the grammar correctly, is the main difference between が and でも to change the fluidity/flow of the statement(s)?
ありがとうございます！
Steveさん
こんにちは！
いつも質問ありがとうございます😊
That's a good observation!
Yes, your understanding is mostly correct.
けど/けれど/けれども is usually used to connect two contrasting sentences. This is similar to が.
However, it can also be used at the end of a sentence, which is a kind of colloquial style.
しかし is used like でも, but it sounds more formal.
Keep up the good work, and don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions:)
Sincerely,
Miho
Team JapanesePod101.com
いいレッスンですよね？
Very informative. I'll be sure to try to use は in contrasting sentences from now on.
今、質問があります。
Is けど/けれど/けれども used like が or like でも？ Does it link 2 contrasting sentences, or join 2 contrasting statements? I'm guessing it's like が, because it can be used to end a sentence (or is that slang?), and I'm fairly certain しかし is used like でも.
こんにちは、Lanceさん！
Thank you for your question! As you said, “おいしい” can indeed be written in kanji as “美味しい”. However, in casual conversation and writing, it's not uncommon to write it in hiragana. So, it's not a typo, but a choice for simplicity and ease of reading. Keep up the good work and continue asking such insightful questions!
ありがとうございます！
Yoshimi
Team JapanesePod101.com
こんにちは！
Just curious as to why "oishii" is written in hiragana instead of kanji in line number 3. Is this a typo or is there a reason for it to be in hiragana instead of kanji?
ありがとうございます!
Hello Cindy,
Thank you for your feedback.👍
I apologize for the confusion. I checked both the audio and the transcript of the part that you mentioned but it seems to me that the “wa” was pronounced and the transcript was correct too, I couldn’t find “va”. Would you kindly give us more details where exactly you hear “va” instead of “wa”?
Keep up the good work and continue to ask questions whenever you're unsure!
ありがとうございます！ (Arigatou gozaimasu! ""Thank you!"")
Yoshimi
Team JapanesePod101.com
Hello, I ready the Lesson scripts as I listen to the audio. This part
" In today’s lesson, we are going to look at how Va can... " I think the script is supposed to say Wa / は not Va?
just to double-check if it is what its meant to be.
Hi Bryan,
Thank you for your message.
They kind of do😆
Have a great day!
Cheers,
Ryoma
Team JapanesePod101.com
is it just me or does Rebecca and Jessi sound alike? 😆😆
Jayさん
Thank you for your reply.
Yes, you can use でも instead of が when speaking.
Just please note the difference: でも links two sentences and が is used between two clauses😊
Hope you enjoy learning Japanese with us:)
Sincerely,
Miho
Team JapanesePod101.com
Mihoさん/先生
Thank you for clarifying that for me!
To not get mixed up, would it be okay (for the most part) just to use でも instead of が when speaking?
😁
Jayさん
こんにちは！
コメントありがとうございます😊
Yes, が has two word's parts of speech: a particle and a conjunction.
In this lesson が is used as a conjunction, meaning "but" or "although."
And the particle が works as a subject/object marker, as you wrote.
Please let us know if you have any further question:)
Sincerely,
Miho
Team JapanesePod101.com
こんにちは,
I am confused about how the particle が is being used here.
This lesson states が corresponds to "but" or "although". However, in earlier (and later) lessons it's used as a subject/object marker (e.g. ぼくは日本語が話せます).
ありがとう!
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a comment.
I checked with my team and this is correct.
Feel free to let us know if you have any further questions at contactus@JapanesePod101.com
Cheers,
Lena
Team JapanesePod101.com
If you're a beginner and you're wondering why this lesson feels kind of hard, it's because some of the grammar points in it are advanced (N3+). I would recommend that you look these contrast markers up and get a more detailed explanation before you move forward. This lesson kinda seems like its aimed at people who are a little further ahead than you normally would be at this point in the "absolute beginner" pathway.
Shielaさん
こんにちは！
Thank you for your comment.
Yes, we often use は as a contrastive marker.
For example,
わたしは ねこはすきです。= I like cat (implying that but I don’t like other animals.)
うちでは にほんごをはなします。= I speak Japanese at home (implying that but not outside.)
Please try and use it like these examples😊
Hope you enjoy learning Japanese with us:)
Sincerely,
Miho
Team JapanesePod101.com
Sorry、but I haven't heard of "wa" acting as a contrasting particle even after passing JLPT 4。Or I might just have overlooked on it。But is it really common in real life and xamination situations?
Weiさん
Thank you so much for your comment😄
Great attitude!! Please keep up the great work👍
Please let us know if you have any questions :)
Sincerely
りょうま（Ryoma）
Team JapanesePod101.com
The new rules is a big change to the previous lesson, I will definitely need to practice a lot to remember it!