Learn how to ask about well-being
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| Welcome to Can-Do Japanese by JapanesePod101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask about well-being in Japanese. |
| For example, "How are you?" is |
| げんきですか。 |
| Megumi Sasaki is in the office breakroom. |
| She greets Yoshi Nakamura, a colleague, and asks about his well-being. |
| Before you listen to the conversation, let's preview some of its key components. |
| げんき |
| "well" |
| げんき (enunciated) |
| げんき |
| Listen to the conversation and focus on the question. |
| Ready? |
| げんきですか。(Genki desu ka.) |
| はい、げんきです。(Hai, genki desu.) |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| げんきですか。(Genki desu ka.) |
| "How are you?" |
| はい、げんきです。(Hai, genki desu.) |
| "Yes, I'm well." |
| Let's break down the conversation. |
| First, do you remember how Megumi asks, |
| "How are you?” |
| げんきですか。(Genki desu ka.) |
| First is げんき "well," in this context. げ-ん-き. げんき。 |
| After this is です。 In this case, it's like the "are" in "are [you]." で-す. です。 |
| Last is か, the question-marking particle. It turns the sentence into a question. か。 |
| All together, it's げんきですか。 This literally means "Well are [you]?" But it translates as "How are [you]?" げんきですか. |
| The word for "you" is understood from context, as this is a two-person conversation. |
| In Japanese, it's more common to avoid the word for "you," when it's clear from context, as it sounds too direct. |
| Let’s take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Yoshi says, |
| "Yes. I'm well." |
| はい、げんきです。 |
| "Yes, I’m well." はい、げんきです。 |
| First is はい, "yes." は-い (enunciated). はい。 |
| This answers Megumi's yes-or-no question, "Are you well?" げんきですか. |
| The second part of the response should be familiar based on the question. |
| げんきです. "I'm well." げんきです。 |
| First is げんき, "well." げんき。 |
| After this is です. In this case, it’s like the "am" in "[I] am." です。 |
| Note, "I" is understood from context, as the speaker is answering the question, and therefore omitted. |
| All together, it's はい、げんきです. "Yes, I'm well." |
| はい、げんきです。 |
| You just learned the polite expression げんきですか, How are [you]? |
| In very casual situations, such as with a close friend or family, you can use the informal way to ask, “How are you?” げんき? |
| Notice the rising intonation. げんき? |
| The meaning is the same as the polite version, げんきですか。How are [you]? However, ですか。is omitted. |
| As this form is appropriate for very casual situations, if you are unsure, it’s best to use the polite form, げんきですか。especially when starting out in Japanese. |
| To respond in the informal way of asking, “How are you?” げんき? |
| You can simply say, げんき, “[I’m] fine. げんき. |
| Note, the difference in intonation from the question. |
| So an informal conversation among friends could sound like this: |
| げんき？”[You] good?” |
| げんき。”[I’m] Good.” |
| Note, Japanese native speakers are more likely to ask about each other’s well-being when they haven’t seen each other for a while. |
| Let's look at some more examples. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers. |
| げんきですか。 |
| はい、げんきです。 |
| げんきですか。 |
| "How are you?" |
| はい、げんきです。 |
| "Yes, I'm well." |
| ささきさん、げんきですか。 |
| まあまあです。 |
| ささきさん、げんきですか。 |
| "How are you, Mr. Sasaki?" |
| まあまあです。 |
| "I'm so-so." |
| げんき？ |
| げんき。 |
| げんき？ |
| "How are you?" |
| げんき。 |
| "I'm well." |
| げんきですか。 |
| げんきです。ささきさんは? |
| げんきですか。 |
| "How are you?" |
| げんきです。ささきさんは? |
| "I'm well. And you?" |
| Did you notice how the last speaker added, |
| ささきさんは? |
| げんきです。ささきさんは? |
| "[I’m] fine. And you?" |
| ささきさんは? "And you?” ささきさんは? |
| First is Megumi's family name in Japanese. ささき. さ-さ-き. ささき. |
| After this is さん, a polite suffix attached to a person's name. さ-ん. さん. |
| It can be used with any gender. In Megumi's case, it translates as "Ms." |
| Together, ささきさん. Ms. Sasaki. ささきさん。 |
| Note, the suffix さん can be used with any gender, so in the case of Jun Sasaki, ささきさん translates as Mr. Sasaki. Remember this point. You’ll need it later. |
| Finally, は the topic-marking particle. は。 |
| Think of it like "as for" in the expression "as for you." |
| Together, it's ささきさんは? This literally means "as for Ms. Sasaki?" but it translates as "And you?" ささきさんは? |
| Notice Ms. Sasaki's name is used instead of the word "you." In Japanese, it’s more common to address a person by their name and polite suffix than directly with "you." |
| The pattern is NAMEは? |
| Note, that this is a shortened form of the sentence, ささきさんは げんきですか。which literally means "As for Ms. Sasaki, well are [you]", but it translates as "How are you, Ms. Sasaki?" |
| In the shortened form, げんきですか is omitted as it can be understood from context. |
| Let's review the key vocabulary. |
| まあまあ. So-so. まあまあ. まあまあ. |
| Let's review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speakers, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say "well?” |
| げんき. |
| げんき. |
| And the question-marking particle? |
| か. |
| か. |
| Do you remember how Megumi asks, "How are [you]?" |
| げんきですか。 |
| げんきですか。 |
| Do you remember how to say “yes?” |
| はい。 |
| はい。 |
| And how Yoshi Nakamura says, |
| "Yes, I'm well.” |
| はい、げんきです。 |
| はい、げんきです。 |
| Do you remember how to say "so-so"? |
| まあまあ. |
| まあまあ. |
| And how to say Megumi's family name, Sasaki, in Japanese? |
| ささき. |
| ささき. |
| Do you remember how to say Ms. Sasaki? |
| ささきさん。 |
| ささきさん。 |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you're Megumi's co-worker, Yoshi Nakamura. |
| Ask Megumi, “How are you?" in polite Japanese. |
| Ready? |
| げんきですか。 |
| まあまあです。 |
| Listen to the question again and repeat. |
| げんきですか。 |
| げんきですか。 |
| Let's try another. |
| Imagine you're the Sasaki family's Japanese teacher, Tomoko Tanaka. |
| Ask Jun, "How are you, Mr. Sasaki." |
| Ready? |
| ささきさん、げんきですか。 |
| はい、げんきです。 |
| Listen to the question again and repeat. |
| ささきさん、げんきですか。 |
| ささきさん、げんきですか。 |
| Let’s try one more. |
| Imagine you're Sakura Suzuki, Haruto’s classmate. |
| Ask Haruto, “How are you?” using informal Japanese. |
| Ready? |
| げんき? |
| げんき。 |
| Listen to the question again and repeat. |
| げんき？ |
| げんき？ |
| In English, the question "How are you," is used every day to ask about someone’s well-being. In Japanese, however, the question げんきですか。”Are you well?” tends to be used when people have not met for some time. |
| The nuance is "How are you (since the last time we met)?" There is no set time frame for how much time needs to pass, but a good rule of thumb is at least a few days. |
| You will also encounter a more polite version of げんきですか which is おげんきですか。 |
| Simply attach the polite prefix お to げんきですか。 |
| This tends to be used when a significant amount of time has passed since the last encounter or with people of higher social status. |
| A correct and common response to おげんきですか。 is げんきです。A common mistake by Japanese learners is to include the prefix お- in the response. Avoid this common mistake. |
| Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Ask About Well-Being unit of this course. |
| Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
| What's next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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