Learn the question "How tall are you?" in Japanese and how to answer it
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Janet: In each lesson of this 25 part series, you'll master a common question for Japanese learners, and then learn how to answer it like a native speaker. You'll learn how these key phrases work by breaking them down into each component. Then through repetition and new vocabulary, you'll expand your understanding of the question, its answers, and any variations. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Janet: In this lesson, you'll learn how to respond to the common question “How tall are you?” In Japanese this is |
| Kaori: 身長はどのくらいですか。 |
| (しんちょうはどのくらいですか。 Shinchou wa donokurai desu ka.) |
| Janet: The first word in the question is |
| Kaori: 身長 (しんちょう shinchou) |
| Janet: meaning “body height” in English. |
| Kaori: (Slow, by syllable) 身長 (しんちょう shinchou) |
| Janet: Listen again and repeat. |
| Kaori: 身長 (しんちょう shinchou) |
| {Pause} |
| Janet: This pattern of first introducing a word at natural speed, providing the translation, breaking it down, and then giving it again at natural speed will be repeated throughout the series. Try to speak aloud as often as possible. The next word in the question is |
| Kaori: は (wa) |
| Janet: topic marking particle. |
| Kaori: (Slow, by syllable) は (wa) |
| Janet: Now repeat. |
| Kaori: は (wa) |
| {Pause} |
| Janet: Listen to the the first 2 words of the question and repeat. |
| Kaori: 身長 は (しんちょう は shinchou wa) |
| {pause} |
| Janet: And after that |
| Kaori: どのくらい (donokurai) |
| Janet: meaning “how much”, “how tall”, “how long.” |
| Kaori: (Slow, by syllable) どのくらい (donokurai) |
| Janet: Now repeat. |
| Kaori: どのくらい (donokurai) |
| {Pause} |
| Janet: Listen to the the first 3 words of the question and repeat. |
| Kaori: 身長 は どのくらい |
| (しんちょう は どのくらい shinchou wa donokurai) |
| {pause} |
| Janet: And after that |
| Kaori: です (desu) |
| Janet: sentence ending particle meaning something like “is.” |
| Kaori: (Slow, by syllable) です (desu) |
| Janet: Now repeat. |
| Kaori: です (desu) |
| {Pause} |
| Janet: Listen to the the first 4 words of the question and repeat. |
| Kaori: 身長 は どのくらい です |
| (しんちょう は どのくらい です shinchou wa donokurai desu) |
| {pause} |
| Janet: And after that |
| Kaori: か (ka) |
| Janet: the question marker. |
| Kaori: (Slow, by syllable) か (ka) |
| Janet: Now repeat. |
| Kaori: か (ka) |
| {Pause} |
| Janet: Listen to the entire question and repeat. |
| Kaori: 身長 は どのくらい です か。 |
| (しんちょう は どのくらい です か。 Shinchou wa donokurai desu ka.) |
| {pause} |
| Janet: (You will hear this common question again and again throughout your studies.) Master the following pattern and responses to the question How tall are you?? |
| Kaori: 180cmです。 |
| (180センチです。 Hyakuhachijussenchi desu.) |
| Janet: "I'm 180 cm tall.” Again, slowly. Repeat the phrase. |
| Kaori: (Slow) 180cmです。 |
| (180センチです。 hyakuhachijussenchi desu.) |
| {pause} |
| Janet: Japanese people use only "centimetres" to tell height. The Units of foot and inch are not common, and almost no one really understands them. Only when someone is taller than two meters, Japanese people use "metres" and "centimetres" to describe, such as “two meters and ten centimeters.” |
| Janet: Let's break it down from the beginning. The first word: |
| Kaori: 180 (hyakuhachijuu) |
| Janet: meaning “180.” |
| Kaori: (Slow, by syllable) 180 (hyakuhachijuu) |
| Janet: Now repeat |
| Kaori: 180 (hyakuhachijuu) |
| {Pause} |
| Janet: And next |
| Kaori: cm (センチ senchi) |
| Janet: meaning “cm.” |
| Kaori: (Slow, by syllable) cm (せんち senchi) |
| Janet: Now repeat. |
| Kaori: cm (せんち senchi) |
| {Pause} |
| Janet: And after that |
| Kaori: です (desu) |
| Janet: meaning something like “is.” |
| Kaori: (Slow, by syllable) です (desu) |
| Janet: Now repeat. |
| Kaori: です (desu) |
| {Pause} |
| Janet: Listen to the speaker say, I'm 180 cm tall, and then repeat. |
| Kaori: 180cmです。 |
| (180センチです。 Hyakuhachijussenchi desu.) |
| {pause} |
| Janet: To expand on the pattern, replace 180 with 175. |
| Kaori: 175 (hyakunanajuugo) |
| Janet: 175 |
| Kaori: (slow) 175 (hyakunanajuugo) |
| Kaori: (regular) 175 (hyakunanajuugo) |
| Janet: Listen to the phrase again, this time with 175 |
| Kaori: 175cmです。 |
| (175センチです。 Hyakunanajuugo senchi desu.) |
| Janet: It mostly stays the same. Simply replace 180. Say “I'm 175 cm tall.” |
| {pause} |
| Kaori: 175cmです。 |
| (175センチです。 Hyakunanajuugosenchi desu.) |
| Janet: To expand on the pattern, replace 175 with 153. |
| Kaori: 153 (hyakugojuusan) |
| Janet: 153 |
| Kaori: (slow) 153 (hyakugojuusan) |
| Kaori: (regular) 153 (hyakugojuusan) |
| Janet: Listen to the phrase again, this time with 153 |
| Kaori: 153cmです。 |
| (153センチです。 hyakugojuusansenchi desu.) |
| Janet: It mostly stays the same. Simply replace 175 with 153. Say “I'm 153 cm tall.” |
| {pause} |
| Kaori: 153cmです。 |
| (153センチです。 Hyakugojuusansenchi desu.) |
| Janet: To expand on the pattern, replace 153 with 194. |
| Kaori: 194 (hyakukyuujuuyon) |
| Janet: 194 |
| Kaori: (slow) 194 (hyakukyuujuuyon) |
| Kaori: (regular) 194 (hyakukyuujuuyon) |
| Janet: Listen to the phrase again, this time with 194 |
| Kaori: 194cmです。 |
| (194センチです。 Hyakukyuujuuyonsenchi desu.) |
| Janet: It mostly stays the same. Simply replace 153 with 194. Say “I'm 194 cm tall.” |
| {pause} |
| Kaori: 194cmです。 |
| (194センチです。 Hyakukyuujuuyonsenchi desu.) |
| QUIZ |
| Janet: Now it's time for a quiz. Imagine you are visiting Japan and someone asks you how tall you are. You are 180 cm tall. Respond to the question. |
| Kaori: 身長はどのくらいですか。 |
| (しんちょうはどのくらいですか。 Shinchou wa donokurai desu ka.) |
| (five seconds) |
| Kaori: 180cmです。 |
| (180センチです。 Hyakuhachijussenchi desu) |
| Janet: Imagine you are 175 cm tall. Respond to the question. |
| Kaori: 身長はどのくらいですか。(しんちょうはどのくらいですか。 Shinchou wa donokurai desu ka.) |
| (five seconds) |
| Kaori: 175cmです。(175センチです。 Hyakunanajuugosenti desu.) |
| Janet: Now imagine you are 153 cm tall. Answer the speaker's question. |
| Kaori: 身長はどのくらいですか。 |
| (しんちょうはどのくらいですか。 Shinchou wa donokurai desu ka.) |
| (five seconds) |
| Kaori: 153cmです。 |
| (153センチです。 Hyakugojuusansenchi desu.) |
| Janet: Imagine you're 194 cm tall. Respond to the question. |
| Kaori: 身長はどのくらいですか。 |
| (しんちょうはどのくらいですか。 Shinchou wa donokurai desu ka.) |
| (five seconds) |
| Kaori: 194cmです。 |
| (194センチです。 Hyakukyuujuuyonsenchi desu.) |
| Janet: Now you want to ask that person how tall they are. Ask the question |
| (5 seconds) |
| Kaori: 身長はどのくらいですか。 |
| (しんちょうはどのくらいですか。Shinchou wa donokurai desu ka.) |
| {pause} |
Outro |
| Janet: This is the end of Lesson 14 |
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