Learn how to introduce yourself and others in a polite, formal way
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Naomi: なおみです！(Naomi desu!) |
| Katherine: Kat here! Being Polite Is Not Just a Formality in Japanese. |
| Naomi: So Kat-san, what are we going to learn in Lesson 3? |
| Kat: In this lesson you will learn how to introduce yourself in a formal situation. |
| Naomi: Where does this conversation take place? |
| Kat: The conversation takes place at school. In the conversation the teacher, Ms.Kurokawa, is introducing Kent to everyone. |
| Naomi:What is the formality level? |
| Kat: Ms. Kurokawa will be speaking formally, and Kent gets a little mixed up again, as you will see. Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):みなさん。こちらは、赤木ケント君。(Mina-san. Kochira wa, Akagi Kento-kun.) |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):赤木君のお父さんは、日本人。お母さんはイギリス人です。(Akagi-kun no o-tō-san wa, Nihon-jin. O-kā-san wa Igirisu-jin desu.) |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):赤木君は赤木さんのいとこです。(Akagi-kun wa Akagi-san no itoko desu.) |
| (applause) |
| ケント (Kento):おれは・・・(Ore wa…) |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):（Ahem）ぼくは・・・.(Boku wa…) |
| ケント (Kento):ぼくは赤木ケントです。よろしくおねがいします。(Boku wa Akagi Kento desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
| もう一度、お願いします。今度はゆっくりお願いします。(Mō ichi-do, onegai shimasu. Kondo wa yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):みなさん。こちらは、赤木ケント君。(Mina-san. Kochira wa, Akagi Kento-kun.) |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):赤木君のお父さんは、日本人。お母さんはイギリス人です。(Akagi-kun no o-tō-san wa, Nihon-jin. O-kā-san wa Igirisu-jin desu.) |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):赤木君は赤木さんのいとこです。(Akagi-kun wa Akagi-san no itoko desu.) |
| ケント (Kento):おれは・・・(Ore wa…) |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):（Ahem）ぼくは・・・.(Boku wa…) |
| ケント (Kento):ぼくは赤木ケントです。よろしくおねがいします。(Boku wa Akagi Kento desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
| 今度は英語が入ります。(Kondo wa Eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):みなさん。こちらは、赤木ケント君。(Mina-san. Kochira wa, Akagi Kento-kun.) |
| Kat: Everyone, this is Kento Akagi. |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):赤木君のお父さんは、日本人。お母さんはイギリス人です。(Akagi-kun no o-tō-san wa, Nihon-jin. O-kā-san wa Igirisu-jin desu.) |
| Kat: Mr. Akagi's father is Japanese, and his mother is English. |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):赤木君は赤木さんのいとこです。(Akagi-kun wa Akagi-san no itoko desu.) |
| Kat: Mr. Akagi is Miss Akagi's cousin. |
| (applause) |
| ケント (Kento):おれは・・・(Ore wa…) |
| Kat: Hey, I am... |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):（Ahem）ぼくは・・・(Boku wa...) |
| Kat: (ahem) I am... |
| ケント (Kento):ぼくは赤木ケントです。よろしくおねがいします。(Boku wa Akagi Kento desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
| Kat: Hello, I am Kento Akagi. It's very nice to meet you all. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Kat: So Kent is half Japanese! So that must be why he can speak Japanese then. |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) Yeah, the teacher said that his father or お父さん (o-tō-san), is Japanese, 日本人 (Nihon-jin). And his mother or お母さん (o-kā-san), is British or イギリス人 (Igirisu-jin). |
| Kat: We'll learn how to say your nationality later on in this lesson, right? |
| Naomi: そうです。(Sō desu.) That's right! That's pretty important, so don't miss it. By the way, I know I've asked you this question in the previous lesson, but... キャットさん、出身は？ (Kyatto-san, shusshin wa?) Where are you from? |
| Kat: 私はエジンバラ出身です。(Watashi wa Ejinbara shusshin desu.) I'm from Edinburgh, in Scotland. |
| Naomi: じゃあ、キャットさんはスコットランド人ですね。(Jā, Kyatto-san wa Sukottorando-jin desu ne.) So you're Scottish. |
| Kat: そうですね、はい。(Sō desu ne, hai.) I'm Scottish. えーと、ちなみになおみ先生は？(Ēto, chinami ni Naomi-sensei wa?) And how about you, Naomi-sensei? |
| Naomi: えーと、私は日本人です。(Ēto, watashi wa Nihon-jin desu.) |
| Kat: 百パーセント日本人。(Hyaku-pāsento Nihon-jin.) |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) One hundred percent Japanese. Maybe. |
| Kat: Maybe. |
| Naomi: 百パーセント日本人です。(Hyaku-pāsento Nihon-jin desu.) |
| Kat: Definitely a hundred percent Japanese, I think! |
| Naomi: はい！(Hai!) |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Kat: So, now, let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| Naomi: お父さん (o-tō-san) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: father |
| Naomi: お父さん (o-tō-san) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: お父さん (o-tō-san) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: OK, and next. |
| Naomi: お母さん (o-kā-san) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: mother |
| Naomi: お母さん (o-kā-san) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: お母さん (o-kā-san) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: OK, next. |
| Naomi: 日本人 (Nihon-jin) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: Japanese person |
| Naomi: 日本人 (Nihon-jin) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 日本人 (Nihon-jin) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: OK, next. |
| Naomi: イギリス人 (Igirisu-jin) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: English, British (nationality) |
| Naomi: イギリス人 (Igirisu-jin) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: イギリス人 (Igirisu-jin) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: OK, next. |
| Naomi: 僕 (boku) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: I, masculine. |
| Naomi: 僕 (boku) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 僕 (boku) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: OK, and next. |
| Naomi: 俺 (ore) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: I, me used by men only. More casual and vulgar than 私 (watashi) or 僕 (boku). |
| Naomi: 俺 (ore) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 俺 (ore) [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Kat: So, now, let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Naomi: The first word we will look at is 日本人 (Nihon-jin). |
| Kat: Japanese person. Let's break this down into its two parts. |
| Naomi: 日本 (Nihon) |
| Kat: Japanese |
| Naomi: 人 (jin) |
| Kat: person |
| Naomi: So basically, this word combines the words for Japan and person together. 日本 (Nihon) plus 人 (jin). So, 日本人 (Nihon-jin), Japanese person. |
| Kat: We talk about nationality by combining the country name and the word 人 (jin), meaning "person". |
| Naomi: そうです。(Sō desu.) Right. Let's go over some other examples. |
| Kat: In the dialogue we had イギリス人 (Igirisu-jin). This is the word for England, or Britain, イギリス (Igirisu) plus the word for person, 人 (jin). |
| Naomi: イギリス人 (Igirisu-jin) |
| Kat: So, Naomi-sensei. What's the word for America? |
| Naomi: アメリカ (Amerika) |
| Kat: So, American would be? |
| Naomi: アメリカ人 (Amerika-jin) |
| Kat: Let's do one more... What's the word for an Italian person? |
| Naomi: Well, Italy is イタリア (Itaria), so that would be... イタリア人 (Itaria-jin). And you are? |
| Kat: スコットランド人 (Sukottorando-jin), Scottish person. |
| So what's the next word? |
| Naomi: 僕 (boku) |
| Kat: In the last lesson, we learned 私 (watashi), which means "I". You're probably already quite familiar with this word. |
| Naomi: Right. Well, guess what? 僕 (boku) also means "I"! |
| Kat: Two words for "I"? |
| Naomi: Yeah, actually, Japanese has many words for "I". |
| Kat: So, when do we use 僕 (boku)? |
| Naomi: 僕 (boku) is mostly used by boys and men. This word is a masculine way to say "I". |
| Kat: And how polite is it? |
| Naomi: Well, it's a bit more casual than 私 (watashi), so guys can use this with their friends. But it is still acceptable to use even in formal situations. |
| Kat: And that leads us to our next word… |
| Naomi: 俺 (ore) |
| Kat: Another word that means "I". |
| Naomi: That's right. This word is also used by boys and men, like 僕 (boku). But please be careful, this word is very casual and rough sounding. |
| Kat: Unlike 僕 (boku), this can NOT be used in formal situations. |
| Naomi: そうね。(Sō ne.) No, definitely not. |
| Kat: So, ah, somebody may watch anime or Japanese dramas and you'll probably hear male characters using this word a lot. |
| Naomi: そうね。(Sō ne.) Yeah, it is very commonly used when speaking amongst friends. |
| Kat: But again, unless you are speaking with very close friends, we recommend that in general you avoid using this word. You might get corrected by your teacher like Kent in the dialogue! |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) And some girls might use あたし (atashi) instead of 私 (watashi). |
| Kat: Ah, yes, I use that! |
| Naomi: In a casual situation you'll hear あたし (atashi) a lot. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Kat: In the last lesson, we went over how to introduce yourself in a casual situation. In this lesson, we'll go over how to introduce yourself in a formal situation, which may be a review for some of you. |
| Naomi: The first thing we'll go over is A は (wa) B です (desu). |
| Kat: Which basically means "A is B". You can use this structure to give your name in an introduction. |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) Right, as in 私はなおみです (watashi wa Naomi desu), I'm Naomi. |
| Kat: So let's explain this a little bit more, using that phrase, 私はなおみです (watashi wa Naomi desu). Let's break this down. |
| Naomi: 私 (watashi) |
| Kat: We covered this in the last lesson, it means "I". |
| Naomi: は (wa) |
| Kat: A particle that marks the topic. |
| Naomi: なおみ (Naomi) |
| Kat: なおみ (Naomi), you can insert your own name here obviously. |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) And lastly, です (desu). |
| Kat: This is called the copula, and it's the equivalent to "is", "am" or "are" in English. |
| Naomi: So in your case? |
| Kat: Ah, it would be 私はキャットです (watashi wa Kyatto desu), I'm Kat. |
| Naomi: Okay, so, let's backtrack a little. There's an important concept I want to go over. |
| Kat: OK, let me guess - is it the particle は (wa)? |
| Naomi: そうです。(Sō desu.) Exactly. Like we said, this particle marks the topic. It comes after what you are going to be talking about. |
| Kat: In this sentence, the topic is "I", so you're letting the listener know that you're going to be talking about yourself. |
| Naomi: Now, we'd like you to look at the lesson notes so we can point out something about this particle. This is pronounced "wa", but if you look at it, it is not the hiragana character for "wa". Do you know what I mean? |
| Kat: Ah, yes, of course, it's actually the character for "ha". |
| Naomi: そうそうそう。(Sō sō sō.) |
| Kat: But don't let this confuse you! |
| Naomi: Yes, when writing the particle "wa", you write it using the character for "ha". It's still pronounced "wa", though. |
| Kat: It's confusing, but you just have to learn it, I think. Okay, now that that's over with, back to the introductions! So after you give your name, what can you say? |
| Naomi: どうぞよろしくお願いします。(Dōzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
| Kat: It’s quite a mouthful, isn't it? |
| Naomi: Yes, but this is actually a review for those who have gone through other Newbie series. It's the polite way to say よろしく (yoroshiku), which we learned and explained in the last lesson. |
| Kat: That's right. To make this phrase informal, we drop the どうぞ (dōzo) from the beginning, and the お願いします (onegai shimasu) from the end. Just よろしく (yoroshiku). |
| Naomi: If you're in a situation where you think you should be polite, though, please use the longer version instead! |
| Kat: Can we hear the phrase one more time? |
| Naomi: Sure. どうぞよろしくお願いします。(Dōzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
| Kat: Okay, now we want you to try introducing yourself in Japanese. Say your name, followed by どうぞよろしくお願いします (dōzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu). |
| Naomi: Remember that the structure for giving your name is わたしは (watashi wa) [your name] です (desu). |
| Kat: First, Naomi and I will introduce ourselves. Listen closely - after we say it, it will be your turn! |
| Naomi: 私はなおみです。どうぞよろしくお願いします。(Watashi wa Naomi desu. Dōzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
| Kat: 私はキャットです。どうぞよろしくお願いします。(Watashi wa Kyatto desu. Dōzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
Outro |
| Kat: So how did you do? If you had any trouble remembering, you may want to go through this lesson one more time just to make sure you get the hang of it. |
| Naomi: That's all for this lesson! |
| Kat: Thanks for listening! Until next time! |
| Naomi: じゃ、また！(Ja, mata!) |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):みなさん。こちらは、赤木ケント君。(Mina-san. Kochira wa, Akagi Kento-kun.) |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):赤木君のお父さんは、日本人。お母さんはイギリス人です。(Akagi-kun no o-tō-san wa, Nihon-jin. O-kā-san wa Igirisu-jin desu.) |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):赤木君は赤木さんのいとこです。(Akagi-kun wa Akagi-san no itoko desu.) |
| (applause) |
| ケント (Kento):おれは・・・(Ore wa…) |
| 黒川先生 (Kurokawa-sensei):（Ahem）ぼくは・・・.(Boku wa…) |
| ケント (Kento):ぼくは赤木ケントです。よろしくおねがいします。(Boku wa Akagi Kento desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
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