Learn the question "How are you?" in Japanese and how to answer it
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| 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 are you?” In Japanese this is |
| Kaori: お元気ですか。 |
| (おげんきですか。 Ogenki desu ka.) |
| Janet: The first word in the question is |
| Kaori: お |
| (o) |
| Janet: this is the honorific prefix. |
| Kaori: (Slow, by syllable) お |
| (o) |
| Janet: Listen again and repeat. |
| Kaori: お |
| (o) |
| {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: 元気 |
| (げんき genki) |
| Janet: meaning something like “fine”. |
| Kaori: (Slow, by syllable) 元気 |
| (げんき genki) |
| Janet: Now repeat. |
| Kaori: 元気 |
| (げんき genki) |
| {Pause} |
| Janet: Listen to the the first 2 words of the question and repeat. |
| Kaori: お 元気 |
| (お げんき o genki) |
| {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 3 words of the question and repeat. |
| Kaori: お 元気 です |
| (お げんき です o genki desu) |
| {pause} |
| Janet: And next |
| 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: お 元気 です か。 |
| (お げんき です か。 O genki 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 are you??” |
| Kaori: 元気です。 |
| (げんきです。 Genki desu.) |
| Janet: “I'm fine.” Again, slowly. Repeat the phrase. |
| Kaori: (Slow) 元気です。 |
| (げんきです。 Genki desu.) |
| {pause} |
| Janet: Let's break it down from the beginning. The first word: |
| Kaori: 元気 |
| (げんき genki) |
| Janet: meaning something like “fine.” |
| Kaori: (Slow, by syllable) 元気 |
| (げんき genki) |
| Janet: Now repeat |
| Kaori: 元気 |
| (げんき genki) |
| {Pause} |
| Janet: Next is |
| Kaori: です |
| (desu) |
| Janet: the sentence ending particle |
| Kaori: (Slow, by syllable) です |
| (desu) |
| Janet: Now repeat. |
| Kaori: です |
| (desu) |
| {Pause} |
| Janet: Listen to the speaker say, “I'm fine”, and then repeat. |
| Kaori: 元気です。 |
| (げんきです。 Genki desu.) |
| {pause} |
| Janet: To expand on the pattern, replace “fine” with “so-so”. |
| Kaori: まあまあ |
| (maamaa) |
| Janet: so-so |
| Kaori: (slow) まあまあ(maamaa) |
| (regular) まあまあ(maamaa) |
| Janet: Listen to the phrase again, this time with “so-so” |
| Kaori: まあまあです。 |
| (まあまあです。 Maamaa desu.) |
| Janet: It mostly stays the same. Simply replace “fine” with “so-so”. Say “I'm so-so”. |
| {pause} |
| Kaori: まあまあです。 |
| (Maamaa desu.) |
| Janet: To expand on the pattern, replace “so-so” with “super fine”, or “extremely well”. |
| Kaori: 絶好調 |
| (ぜっこうちょう zekkouchou) |
| Janet: super fine, extremely well |
| Kaori: (slow) 絶好調 |
| (ぜっこうちょう zekkouchou) (regular) 絶好調 |
| (ぜっこうちょう zekkouchou) |
| Janet: Listen to the phrase again, this time with “super fine,” “extremely well” |
| Kaori: 絶好調です。 |
| (ぜっこうちょうです。 Zekkouchou desu.) |
| Janet: It mostly stays the same. Simply replace “so-so” with “super fine” or “extremely well.” Say “I'm super fine” or “I’m extremely well.” |
| {pause} |
| Kaori: 絶好調です。 |
| (ぜっこうちょうです。 Zekkouchou desu.) |
| Janet: To use a different phrase, replace “super fine, extremely well” with “sleepy.” |
| Kaori: 眠い |
| (ねむい nemui) |
| Janet: sleepy |
| Kaori: (slow) 眠い |
| (ねむい nemui) (regular) 眠い |
| (ねむい nemui) |
| Janet: Listen to the phrase again, this time with sleepy |
| Kaori: 眠いです。 |
| (ねむいです。) |
| Janet: It mostly stays the same. Simply replace “super fine” with “sleepy”. Say “I'm sleepy.” |
| {pause} |
| Kaori: 眠いです。 |
| (ねむいです。 Nemui desu.) |
| QUIZ |
| Now it's time for a quiz. Imagine you are visiting Japan and someone asks you how you are. You are fine. Respond to the question. |
| Kaori: お元気ですか。 |
| (おげんきですか。 Ogenki desu ka.) |
| (five seconds) 元気です。 |
| (げんきです。 Genki desu.) |
| Janet: Now imagine you are “so-so”. Respond to the question. |
| Kaori: お元気ですか。 |
| (おげんきですか。 Ogenki desu ka.) |
| (five seconds) まあまあです。 |
| (Maamaa desu.) |
| Janet: Imagine you are super fine, extremely well. Answer the speaker's question. |
| Kaori: お元気ですか。 |
| (おげんきですか。 Ogenki desu ka.) |
| (five seconds) 絶好調です。 |
| (ぜっこうちょうです。 Zekkouchou desu.) |
| Janet: Imagine you're sleepy. Respond to the question. |
| Kaori: お元気ですか。 |
| (おげんきですか。 Ogenki desu ka.) |
| (five seconds) 眠いです。 |
| (ねむいです。 Nemui desu.) |
| Janet: You want to ask someone how they are doing. Ask the question |
| (5 seconds) |
| Kaori: お元気ですか。 |
| (おげんきですか。 Ogenki desu ka.) |
| {pause} |
| Janet: Now it's time to answer the question with actual information about yourself. |
| Kaori: お元気ですか。 |
| (おげんきですか。 Ogenki desu ka.) |
| {pause} |
Outro |
| Janet: This is the end of Lesson 16 |
Comments
Hide