This feature requires an Active Premium subscription. Sign in or register for a 7-Day Free Trial today. Click link for more info.
This feature requires an Active Basic subscription. Sign in or register for a 7-Day Free Trial today. Click link for more info.
 
By Type:

Ascending Descending
By Month:

Ascending Descending
By Keyword:

Ascending Descending

Today we come full circle with the best conversation (kaiwa) to date. Today’s lesson brings together this weeks work, so you don’t want to miss this one! Please see comments for more on speaking about family members or check out the PDF.

Function: | Topic: | Politeness Level: , ,


This entry was posted on Friday, January 20th, 2006 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Beginner Season 1 . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

40 Responses to “Beginner Lesson #23 - Bringing it All Together”

Lon says:

I’m enjoying this series, lots of good information and an easy, informal, comfortable style.

I’m using iTunes and recently, when I update, I’m picking up two copies of each episode. Do you suppose this is a problem on your side or mine? This is not happening with any of the other 30+ podcasts I subscribe to.

Thanks!

avatar
japanesepod101.com says:

Lon-san,
Thank you for listening and for posting! It is great to hear from you! Doumo Arigatou Gozaimasu!
Hmmm, I am not sure. So far this is the first I’ve heard about this, but let me look into it a bit more. If anyone else out there is having the same problem, please let us know.

Thank you again for listening!

avatar
Nathan says:

ピーターさん、

I forgot to mention that I liked the Seinfield reference ;) Kramer is my favorite :D

Just to let you know, I am not having any problem with downloading episodes in iTunes.

頑張ってください!

avatar
ロンダ says:

Lon-san,

I am using iTunes as well to download the podcasts, however, I am not picking up two copies. I don’t know how much this helps, but at least wanted you to know.

ピーターさん、さくらさんー
I am a first-year (completed Japanese 1-3 college-level) here in California. I am going to be taking Japanese 4 in the fall (when it is offered again). I recently came across your podcast and have been really enjoying it. To keep up with my studies, I have been assisting with the Japanese 2 class, and I just told them about your podcast, too!

Keep up the great work! たのしみにしっています!
〜ロンダ (Rhonda)

avatar
JapanesePod101.com says:

Received a question today, which I knew would becoming about 0-nii-san・おにいさん・お兄さん and its usage so here is the rest of the explanation about family members: Family Members – this can be quite confusing if not clearly explained. Here we will fully explain here, as today we only gave another piece of the puzzle. Here we complete it.
When speaking about your family you use:
1. Chichi・ちち・父 – father (only for your family)
2. Haha・はは・母 – mother (only for your family)
3. Ani・あに・兄 – older brother (only for your family)
4. Ane・あね・姉 – older sister (only for your family)
5. Otouto・おとうと・弟 – younger brother (only for your family)
6. Imouto・いもうと・妹 – younger sister (only for your family)

Politer form -When speaking about someone else’s family:
7. O-tou-san・おとうさん・お父さん – father (for another person’s family)
8. O-kaa-san・おかあさん・お母さん – mother (for another person’s family)
9. O-nii-san・おにいさん・お兄さん – older brother (for another person’s family)
10. O-nee-san・おねえさん・お姉さん – older sister (for another person’s family)
11. Otouto-san・おとうとさん・弟さん – younger brother (for another person’s family)
12. Imouto-san・いもうとさん・妹さん – younger sister (for another person’s family)

Here comes the CURVE BALL – When speaking about your own ELDER family members you can also use the politer form! And it is very common to hear Japanese people refer to their elder family members as:
13. O-tou-san・おとうさん・お父さん – father (for both your own and other peoples family)
14. O-kaa-san・おかあさん・お母さん – mother (for both your own and other peoples family)
15. O-nii-san・おにいさん・お兄さん – older brother (for both your own and other peoples family)
16. O-nee-san・おねえさん・お姉さん – older sister (for both your own and other peoples family)
Please check the PDF notes for an explanation! :lol:

avatar
Peter says:

おはよう皆さん、Morning everyone! Woke up to Tokyo covered in snow! 雪だらけ!!!!
ネイザンさん、毎度ありがとうございます。Thanks for letting us know about itunes on your side.
Great to know that you appreciated the Seinfeld reference, It usually takes me 30 minutes, two dictionaries, and an introductory course on American ediquette to even come close to explaining why it is funny.
By the way, the Japanese voiced over Seinfeld episodes are amazing, amazing study material!! Kramer’s voice over is awesome! One episode gives me great material for weeks! :grin:

ロンダさん、初めまして宜しくお願いします。Thank you for posting! And thank you for letting us know about itunes on your computer. Also thank you for spreading the word about us!!!! 本当にありがとうございます!We can’t thank you enough, as it is listeners like you that have helped us grow. :grin:
We are working on so much more, so please stay tuned, and please keep posting! Please say hi to you class, and please let us know if there is anything we can do for you. Any questions, etc., just shoot us an email or post on the board, we’ll get back to you in no time. Also vice-versa, if you have any ideas for lessons, or any feedback, please keep it coming. We are constantly trying to improve ourselves, and feedback is the key. Thank you again.

宜しくお願いします。

avatar
Sakura says:

みなさん、posts をありがとうございます!We’re having the deepest snow in five years in the center of Tokyo :smile: On a cold day like this, there is nothing like eating nice hot nabemono (or, nabe; meat, fish, and vegetables cooked in broth in a big clay pot heated on the dining table) :lol: Here are some photos of nabemono>>>> http://www.ajinomoto.co.jp/recipe/special/646/S1.asp??recipe=rcpSp646 Here’s more information about it, if you are interested>>>>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabemono

avatar
Alain RIEDACKER says:

Great podcast.
It is very informative and very well presented.
Congratulations.
Just wondering if you are planning to split the podcasts in different levels at some stage.
Cheers,
Alain (from Tokyo, Suginami-Ku)

avatar
Peter says:

Alain-san,

It seems you ran into our producer! We lost track of him yesterday after his second bottle of sake. Do you remember where you last saw him? :lol:
Just kidding, but we are up to something. We’ll keep you posted.

Suginami-ku very nice!

avatar
mari says:

I’m a returned JET, now attending grad school in the U.S., and I’ve been really enjoying this podcast. I wish it had been around a few years ago during my first lonely month in the inaka! Anyway, keep up the good work. I hope that the show does progress towards different levels at some point (perhaps an advanced broadcast for those of us struggling with grammatical points?).

Thanks!

avatar
Peter says:

Mari-san, thanx for the post! Yes, I can relate!!! I spent my first few years in Ibaraki-ken, which I absolutely love! Inaka, the double-edged sword, you learn a lot of Japanese, but the learning curve is 90 degrees! We are working on something for intermediates, so please stay tuned!
BTW, where were you in Japan?

avatar
fLOYD w gODDARD says:

I have just recently found this site. I think that it is terrific and am trying out the 7 day free trial. I hope to extend my stay to at least one year given that the finances are available to me in the near future. I am relatively new to the language and have been “winging it” on my own, for the most part, for the past nine months or so. The audio lessons with Peter, Nasuko, Sakura, & Kazunori are a great help and enjoyment for me. Thank you !

avatar
Amanda says:

is the “u” in every word silent? to me it sounds like its silent like its Nasuko…i dont really hear the “u” being said
is the “u” silent?

avatar
John C. Briggs says:

Amandaさん、
No, the “u” is not generally silent. However, occasionally it is dropped by some speakers.
Often you will hear desu as “des” rather than “de su”. It seems to depend on the speaker. I don’t think there is any real rules here but I would guess that dropping “u” is more common at the end of a sentence.
jya mata
John

avatar
Shannon says:

Yay! I’m learning!

I understood everything in this one. I am so excited. You guys rock!!
Thank you!! ^.^!!

Shannon

avatar
Kennerz says:

Hi :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

avatar
mayutaka8985 says:

Hiya, great lesson ^^

I wonder if you’re aware though that in the PDF for the romaji –> english translation part, the sentence “gonin desu. chichi to haha to ani to imouto to watashi desu.” on the right hand side is translated to “five people. dad, mom, older brother, OLDER SISTER and myself.”

It should be younger sister ^^; Typo ne?

avatar
Ashurii Arekusandora says:

how would you say family members that are not immediate family?(Aunts, Uncles, etc.)

Doumo Arigato Gozimazu,
Ashurii

avatar
Jack says:

Quick question about one of the first lines in this dialogue:

“Kore wa watashi no kazoku no shashin desu.”
“This is a photo of my family.”

Can this also be translated as “This is my family’s photo.”? This seems pretty clear in this context, but I’m wondering, if, say, you had “Kore wa John no shashin desu.”, there could be some confusion between the meanings “This is John’s photo” (possessive), and “This is a photo of John.”

Can anyone clarify if there’s any way around this, if I’m misunderstanding, or if the solution is always found in the context?

avatar
JapanesePod101.com says:

basically there is no difference between your english examples, except that “this is john’s photo” could also mean it’s a photo he owns (but he’s not necessarily in the photo).

so の in japanese can be translated both ways.
it can also be used in other ways like これはイタリアの車 which doesn’t mean “this is Italy’s car” but actually means “this is an italian car.”

avatar
Jack says:

“basically there is no difference between your english examples, except that “this is john’s photo” could also mean it’s a photo he owns (but he’s not necessarily in the photo).”

That’s what I was going for. Okay, so the meaning is based on context? I know, I’m nitpicky!

Thanks for the help!

avatar
markystar says:

yep, depends on context. in fact, japanese is classified as a “high context language,” because so much is based on, well, context. and that’s why it’s highly flexible and so much can be implicit.
english, on the other hand, is a “low context language.” which means we have to spell everything out in detail to get an idea across.

avatar
Jose Aragon says:

Dear Peter:
I have to thank you because my japanese is improving since I started with the course.
It became more comprehensive and easy to remember.
I am sure is not easy to put a course like this.It is well structured and lots of new words are taugth everyday.
I am afraid your comments,and enthusiasm are not always so well receive. In fact it puts me off….everytime I start a lesson I have to endure it…..Of course Sakura and rest are going to be “phenomenal” or “very nice” ….they are japanese..!!!
Did anyone else get the same feeling?

And of course I brought this issue before purchasing the whole year membership…..no answer….
I went and bought it anyway…as I am desesperate in need to learn becuase of my job…and no time to attend classes……..I guess we will talk after a year….then……

Ja matane

avatar
Mayumi says:

Jose Aragon-san,
Thank you for your feedback! :dogeza: Thanks to our listeners’ feedback and comments, we can have been improving our lessons! :kokoro: So, please keep learning with us!! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu! :dogeza:

avatar
Potato says:

Do Japanese chidren really call their parent haha and Chichi??

avatar
Jessi says:

Potatoさん,
When children address their parents, they usually use otousan and okaasan. If they’re really young, they might use Mama and Papa :smile:

avatar
Vania says:

Hy first of all congratulations This si a great learning program. In may case i kill two birds on a stone cause my native language is spanish though I´ve been learning english since I was six. Either way i hadn`t practice for two years and I had forgotten some vocabulary which means I study english and japanese at the time.
Now the reason why I`m writting is because I`ve a friend that was taught supousedly by a native japanese the lenguage and he said that the u was always silent and so I`ve heard on the animes I`ve seen (Main reason of my interest in the lenguage I confess) :oops: And second I`ve heard as an unpolite way to reffer to a sibling was aniki so ani as Sakura said (Please correct me i´f I was wrong about who said it I`m a wreck to remember names) could be a small form of it?

avatar
atin says:

Hi!.

Sashin mean photgraph.

え means picture. can it be used instead of sashin

avatar
Dino says:

Hello everyone.
I don’t know if you have noticed yet, but there is a mistake in your ” Line-By-Line Audio Transcript”.

In the english translation, “imotoo” is translated as “older sister” in one part, and thats as far as you learned us in the podcast incorrect, the audio part does translate it correctly.

I don’t want to make any problems for your site, but its maybe worth correcting, since this are begginer lessons, and some people maybe get confused with this “typo”.

My best regards for the whole japanesepod101 team, this website is sugoi : )

avatar
Dino says:

imooto* sorry typo.

avatar
Naomi says:

Dino-san
Thank you for pointing out. That mistake has been fixed. :wink:

avatar
Mike says:

Another very fine lesson. すばらしい です! I have a question which may be out of scope. I have noticed that the kanji for 姉 decomposes into 女 and 市. The relationship between 女 and elder sister is quite clear. But what is the relationship between market and elder sister? By the same token, for younger sister, we have 女 and 末. What is the relationship? Or should I concern myself with the constituent components within any given kanji, i.e. am i trying to read too much into the patterns?

avatar
おう says:


avatar
Lacey says:

:grin: This lesson was very informative.

I have one question, though.

When japanese people talk, don’t they normally leave out everything that is obvious (Like the ‘I’)?

This could probably get hard to follow if you aren’t used to talking like that.
So really, couldn’t these dialogues be simplified?

avatar
ムラサキツネ says:

I’m just wondering… is it necessary to say “watashi no” before “haha” or any of the words referring to your own family (such as “watashi no imouto”)? Isn’t it already implied that you’re talking about your own family members?

Thanks!

avatar
おう says:

これは何ですか。
これ。
これは私の家族の写真です。
ご家族は何人ですか。
五人です、父と母と兄と妹と私です。
多いですね。彼は誰ですか。
彼は私の兄です。彼はサッカーが好きです。
彼女は誰ですか。
彼女は私の妹です。彼女は忙しいです。
彼は誰ですか。
彼は私の父です。彼はお酒が好きです。
彼女は誰ですか。
彼女は私の母です。彼女は楽しいです。

それじゃ。

avatar
Misael says:

なるほど!
I was cosfused about this.
Thanks!
ありがとうございます。

avatar
Amnesty says:

Hello Peter and Gals,

I wanted to ask if there is a way to include the true transript of the podcast. Meaning that often you will have greetings and endings that are cute and with great slang vocab, but when I go to figure out what you said, like “piece of cake,” at the end of the podcast, it’s not on the transcript. Neither are the cool greetings you say to each other in the beginning of this lesson.

Now, I did start my lessons at #23 because I am not a true beginner, nor am I an intermediate so I kind of placed myself here. Maybe you have gone over these greetings and endings in another lesson, but they are not easy to find because I have been skimming the previous lessons to find them.

Anyway, is there a “search” feature for these things that are not actually on the transcript? or would it be possible in the future to include the “extras” like that?

Not complaining really because I love the program and it just makes me want more and more!

Thanks minna sama!

avatar
Rodrigo says:

This was amazing! Peter wasn’t the only one overexcited about this!

avatar
Tsukiama says:

I love the summaries like this. Makes it easier to review earlier material without having to listen to as many individual episodes.

Can these capstone lessons be called out somehow and highlighted to make them easier to find?

avatar

Leave a Reply

:mrgreen: :neutral: :twisted: :shock: :smile: :???: :cool: :evil: :grin: :oops: :razz: :roll: :wink: :cry: :eek: :lol: :mad: :sad: