Learn about asking for directions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Chigusa:おはよう、東京。チグサです。 |
| Peter: Peter here. Survival phrases #35. So Chigusa san, what’s going on in Japan nowadays? |
| Chigusa:バスケットボールフィーバー。 |
| Peter: English please? |
| Chigusa: Basketball fever! |
| Peter: Yes, this year the world championships are being hosted in Japan. For the basketball world, all eyes are on Japan. |
| Chigusa: Yay. |
| Peter: Starting last week, famous players started arriving in Japan and then the news frenzy started. Play started last weekend, so much is going on here dealing with basketball, you can’t escape it. Newspapers, news, it’s everywhere! How about you Chigusa san, are you caught up in the fever too? |
| Chigusa: I’m left behind. |
| Peter: Do you like basketball? |
| Chigusa: I used to be the boys’ basketball team manager in junior high. |
| Peter: Really? |
| Chigusa: Yes. |
| Peter: So, come on. You’ve got to like it! |
| Chigusa: I’ll catch up. |
| Peter: Ok, so which team are you rooting for? |
| Chigusa: Japan. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Peter: So Chigusa san, how can I ask you ‘what team are you rooting for?’ |
| Chigusa:どこのチームを応援していますか？ |
| Peter: One more time? Nice and slow? |
| Chigusa:どこの、チームを、おうえんして、いますか？ |
| Peter: I notice the first part is an interrogative meaning, where. This is followed by? Give it to us one more time? |
| Chigusa:どこ |
| Peter: This is followed by? |
| Chigusa:の |
| Peter: The possessive particle. Next we have? |
| Chigusa:チーム |
| Peter: Break that down? |
| Chigusa:ち・い・む、チーム |
| Peter: ‘Team’. So give us the first part of the sentence? |
| Chigusa:どこのチーム |
| Peter: ‘Where’s team’. Next we have? |
| Chigusa:応援 |
| Peter: This is? |
| Chigusa: Support. |
| Peter: Break it down? |
| Chigusa:お・う・え・ん、応援 |
| Peter: Followed by? |
| Chigusa:しています |
| Peter: This is a present progressive of the verb? |
| Chigusa:する |
| Peter: The ground behind it is a little beyond the scope of this lesson. But when combined with? |
| Chigusa:応援 |
| Peter: Means, ‘supporting’. And last we have? |
| Chigusa:か？ |
| Peter: Again, indicating a question. So give us the whole expression? |
| Chigusa:どこのチームを応援していますか？ |
| Peter: ‘Which team are you supporting?’, ‘Which team are you rooting for?’. And this is relevant today for many reasons. We’re going to get into one later on but, for now, oh? Chigusa san, I can’t believe my eyes! Look at what the cat just dragged in! |
| Chigusa:お久しぶりです。 |
| Yoshi:お久しぶりです。 |
| Peter: Welcome back Yoshi san! |
| Yoshi:ただいま帰りました。 |
| Chigusa:お帰りなさい。 |
| Peter: His first day back and he’s late. Yes, Yoshi san is back. So, Yoshi san, how was it? Give us some details! |
| Yoshi: It was great! |
| Peter: So come on, give us some details! |
| Yoshi: Ok, my friend’s wedding was great. I got to see all my old friends, and I got to see all my family, my brother’s family, my sister’s family, my parents and my nieces and my nephews who are growing so fast. I couldn’t believe it. |
| Chigusa: And your hair grows fast too! Did you see his ponytail? |
| Peter: I’m not looking in his direction. |
| Chigusa: He’s got really long hair now. |
| Yoshi: Look at me Peter. |
| Peter: Well, Yoshi san, it’s so great to have back and, now what did you say when you first came in the door? |
| Yoshi:ただいま！ |
| Peter: The literal translation is, ‘just now’, but it’s a term that’s often used when one comes home. So, it can be interpreted as ‘I’m home’, and Yoshi san, it’s great to have you back home. Welcome home Yoshi san! |
| Yoshi: Thank you! ただいま！ |
| Peter: And Chigusa san, what do we say when someone comes home? |
| Chigusa:おかえり！ |
| Peter: Which is the polite form of ‘to return’. But here it’s interpreted as, ‘welcome back’. |
| Chigusa: Right, you can also say, お帰りなさい. To make it more polite too. |
| Peter: But what about for Yoshi sans level? |
| Chigusa:おかえり！ |
| Peter: Yes, because he’s on that intimate level. Alright, so Yoshi san, you got here just in time. I was about to ask Chigusa san, which team she’s rooting for so why don’t you take that off my hands? Let’s ask Chigusa san what team she’s rooting for. |
| Yoshi:チグサさん、どこのチームを応援していますか？ |
| Chigusa:日本です。 |
| Peter: Japan. Correct? |
| Chigusa: Correct. |
| Peter:Chigusa san, let’s ask Yoshi san which team he’s rooting for? |
| Chigusa:ヨシさん、どこのチームを応援していますか？ |
| Yoshi:アメリカです。 |
| Peter: Yoshi san! Welcome back! |
| Yoshi: I’m back! |
| Peter: Which team are you rooting for Yoshi san? |
| Yoshi: America! |
| Peter: Yes Yoshi! And feel free to throw the question my way? |
| Yoshi:ピーターさんはどこのチームを応援していますか？ |
| Peter:アメリカです。 |
| Yoshi: Of course! |
Lesson focus |
| Peter: Now in the previous basketball lesson we covered six teams. In the tournament there’s twenty-four teams, so Chigusa and I have made a special bonus track covering the rest of the teams and nationalities. So, if you want that track stop by japanesepod101.com, it’s there as the bonus track and inside you’ll find all the other countries and their nationalities. And now, for today’s lesson what we’re going to work on is finding the stadium and finding your seat. Currently, the first round of the tournament is being held at four locations throughout Japan. Again, we covered this, and four stadiums. Now what we’re going to do today is work on finding those four stadiums. In most cases, people will take a train to get near the stadium. Now, most likely they’ll have people pointing you in the direction. But the thing about these structures is, they can be applied to other situations. If you’re going to a Kabuki theatre, if you’re going to Noh theatre, if you’re going to any event in Japan you’ll be able to use what we’re going to teach you, in the sequence and apply it across the board. That’s why it’s very useful. We’re going to give you four questions that you can use when looking for something. Now, three of them we’ve already covered in the past and one of them is going to be new, alright? Now, let’s just go through them. With that said, let's use Hamamatsu Arena. Chigusa san? First one. |
| Chigusa:浜松アリーナは、どこですか？ |
| Peter: ‘Where is Hamamatsu Arena?’. This structure we’ve covered in a previous lesson, the location you’re looking for comes first, followed by a fixed phrase. With that being? |
| Chigusa:は、どこですか？ |
| Peter: Next we have? |
| Yoshi:浜松アリーナに行きたいんですが。 |
| Peter: Again, we covered this in a previous lesson. The first part, the location changes. What stays the same is...? |
| Yoshi:に、行きたいんですが。 |
| Peter: ‘I want to go to’, and then you enter the location. In this case, Hamamatsu Arena. ‘I want to go to Hamamatsu Arena’. And finally we have? Chigusa san. |
| Chigusa:浜松アリーナを探しているんですが。 |
| Peter: ‘I’m looking for Hamamatsu Arena’. Can you give it to us one more time? |
| Chigusa:浜松アリーナを探しているんですが。 |
| Peter: What’s going to stay the same in this sentence? |
| Chigusa:を、探しているんですが。 |
| Peter: Let’s take a closer look in there. First come location, in that sentence it was? |
| Chigusa:浜松アリーナ |
| Peter: So this is the part that’s going to change. This is followed by the object marker? |
| Chigusa:を |
| Peter: This is followed by? |
| Chigusa:探している |
| Peter: This is the present progressive of the verb? |
| Chigusa:探す |
| Peter: ‘To search for’, ‘to look for’. Again the grammar is beyond the scope of this lesson but you can notice some similarities from the first verb in the present progressive form that we introduced. Which is? |
| Chigusa:応援している |
| Peter: The verb in the て form followed by the いる is the same. This is then followed by? |
| Chigusa:ん |
| Peter: Which is a contraction of? |
| Chigusa:の |
| Peter: Again, used when explaining something or to draw a response from the listener. This is followed by? |
| Chigusa:です |
| Peter: The polite form of the copula. And, finally we have? |
| Chigusa:が |
| Peter: Which softens a request and lets the listener know that you’re asking for help, because it’s actually a statement here. ‘I’m looking for’ and the location. In this case ‘I’m looking for Hamamatsu Arena’. When you add the が on the end? |
| Chigusa:んですが |
| Peter: It lets the listener know that you want his input and help. Now, with these three questions you should be able to find your way to any venue in Japan. Now we always give you the way to ask and we understand that sometimes the most difficult part is listening to the answer and understanding the answer. So we’re going to give you some practice at that now. Yoshi san, who has arrived in Hamamatsu station, is going to ask for directions to the Arena from Hamamatsu station. Ok? Please listen and see what you can pick up. Here we go. |
| Yoshi:すみません。浜松アリーナに行きたいんですが。 |
| Chigusa:ここから東海道線に乗って、天竜川で降りてください。そこから歩いて５分です。 |
| Yoshi:もういちど、おねがいします。ゆっくり、おねがいします。 |
| Chigusa:こおっから、とうかいどうせんにのって、てんりゅうがわで、おりてください。そこから、あるいて5ふんです。 |
| Yoshi:ありがとうございます。すみません、他の方法はありますか？ |
| Chigusa:はい、ここからバスに乗って、浜松アリーナ駅で降りてください。そこから歩いて１分です。 |
| Yoshi:ありがとうございました。 |
| Peter: Now, let’s go through that conversation, one more time. |
| Yoshi:すみません。 |
| Peter: Excuse me. |
| Yoshi:浜松アリーナに行きたいんですが。 |
| Peter: ‘I want to go to Hamamatsu Arena’. |
| Chigusa:ここから、東海道線に乗って、 |
| Peter: ‘From here ride the Tokaido line’. |
| Chigusa:天竜川で降りてください。 |
| Peter: ‘And get off at Tenryugawa station’. |
| Chigusa:そこから、歩いて５分です。 |
| Peter: ‘From there, walk five minutes.’. Let’s just quickly go over this one more time. Give us the first part, Chigusa san? |
| Chigusa:ここから |
| Peter: ‘From here’, that’s the literal translation. |
| Chigusa:東海道線に乗って |
| Peter:東海道線, ‘Tokaido line’. 線 is the line, so whatever comes before that, that’s the name of the line. |
| Chigusa:天竜川で降りてください |
| Peter: Then we have the particle. |
| Chigusa:に |
| Peter: And the verb? |
| Chigusa:乗って |
| Peter: Which is used when we ride on a moving vehicle, whether it’s a train, plane, |
| or car. This is the verb and particle that we use. Next we have? |
| Chigusa:天竜川で、降りてください |
| Peter: The first part is the name of the station |
| Chigusa:天竜川 |
| Peter: Then we have the particle. |
| Chigusa:で |
| Peter: Which marks a place where an action takes place. and this action being? |
| Chigusa:降りて |
| Peter: ‘To get off’. In itsて form. |
| Chigusa:ください |
| Peter: Followed by, please. So, ‘please get off at Tenryugawa station’. |
| Chigusa:そこから |
| Peter: Previously we had? |
| Chigusa:ここから |
| Peter: ‘From here’. This time we have? |
| Chigusa:そこから |
| Peter: ‘From there’. |
| Chigusa:歩いて、５分です。 |
| Peter: ‘A five-minute walk’. This was followed by? |
| Yoshi:他の方法は、ありますか？ |
| Peter: ‘Is there another way?’. Break that down for us? Give us the first part? |
| Yoshi:他の |
| Peter: ‘Another’. |
| Yoshi:方法 |
| Peter: ‘Way’, ‘Method’. So, when we put them together...? |
| Yoshi:他の方法 |
| Peter: ‘Another method’. We get another method. This is followed by? |
| Yoshi:は(va) |
| Peter: Marking particle は, then? |
| Yoshi:あります |
| Peter: Literally the verb ‘to exist’ for inanimate things but we interpret this as, ‘there is’ followed by? |
| Yoshi:か？ |
| Peter: The question marking particle. Put it all together? |
| Yoshi:ありますか？ |
| Peter: ‘Does there exist’ literally and interpreted as, ‘is there’, ‘is there another way?’. And, the station worker answers? |
| Chigusa:ここから、バスに乗って、浜松アリーナ駅で降りてください。 |
| Peter: So similar to what we just had, just a different vehicle. Give us the first part one more time? |
| Chigusa:ここから |
| Peter: ‘From here, same’. |
| Chigusa:バスに |
| Peter: Last time we had a train. This time it’s? |
| Chigusa:バス |
| Peter: As we said, with all vehicles, when we ride them it takes the particle? |
| Chigusa:に |
| Peter: Followed by the verb? |
| Chigusa:乗る |
| Peter: And again, it’s in its て- form here. So we have... |
| Chigusa:に乗って |
| Peter: Next? |
| Chigusa:浜松アリーナ駅で降りてください。 |
| Peter: We have a location? |
| Chigusa:浜松アリーナ駅 |
| Peter: ‘Hamamatsu Arena station’. And we’re going to get off there so we mark it with the particle? |
| Chigusa:で |
| Peter: Followed by the verb? |
| Chigusa:降りる |
| Peter: In its て- form, which is? |
| Chigusa:降りて |
| Peter: And followed by please? |
| Chigusa:ください |
| Peter: Now you can see here that these directions may seem intimidating, there are so many similarities there. Finally, we have? |
| Chigusa:そこから、歩いて１分です。 |
| Peter: First part? |
| Chigusa:そこから |
| Peter: ‘From there’. |
| Chigusa:歩いて |
| Peter: This is the て-form of the verb... |
| Chigusa:歩く |
| Peter: ‘To walk’. Followed by? |
| Chigusa:１分です |
| Peter: ‘One-minute walk’. ‘From there it’s a one-minute walk’. This sentence is exactly the same as the one given in the previous directions except for the time. Previously we had five minutes, here we have one minute. That’s the only thing that changes. Alright, so with these directions you’ve found your way to the Arena. Now you’re in the Arena and you’re looking for your seat and you can’t find your seat. Yoshi san, help us out. What can we say here? |
| Yoshi: You can call the person who works there and you can show your ticket and ask the person この席は、どこにありますか？. |
| Peter: ‘Where is this seat?’. Let’s give you some more options here. Chigusa san, you can also say? |
| Chigusa:この席は、どこですか？ |
| Peter: And Yoshi san, you can finally say? |
| Yoshi:この席を、探しているんですが。 |
| Peter: ‘I’m looking for this seat’. Now, we have four that we introduced today but one of them would sound a bit strange here. Right, Yoshi san? |
| Yoshi: Yes. |
| Peter: Which one would that be? |
| Yoshi: The structure に、行きたいんですが. |
| Peter: So you can’t use that when looking for a seat. Yoshi san, which one would you use? |
| Yoshi:この席は、どこにありますか？ |
| Peter: Ah, the easy one! Chigusa san, which would you use? |
| Chigusa:この席は、どこですか？ |
| Peter: Interesting. So Chigusa san, what about the third option, 探してるんですか？. Would you use that? |
| Chigusa: Personally, I don’t think I would because the sentence is sort of long, and the workers would know that you’re looking for a seat if you show them the ticket. So there’s no need to use such a long sentence, but you can use it if you want to. |
| Peter: Alright, what sort of situations would you use that for? |
| Chigusa:探しているんですが, restaurants, or places, shops. |
| Peter: Alright so, when looking for the seat you might want to slim it down to the two options? |
| Yoshi:この席は、どこですか？ |
| Peter: Or |
| Chigusa:この席は、どこにありますか？ |
Outro |
| Peter: Alright so, that’s going to do it for today. A long lesson in a hot studio! Really we’re looking forward to September when it cools down a bit. That’s going to do for today. |
| Chigusa:またね。 |
| Yoshi:またね。 |
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