Learn how to ask for clarification
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| [INTRO] |
| Welcome to Can-Do Japanese by JapanesePod101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for clarification in Japanese. |
| For example, "One more time, please. Slowly, please." is |
| Rin Sasaki (@international-daughter): もういちどおねがいします。ゆっくり おねがいします。 |
| Rin Sasaki (@international-daughter) meets her neighbor, Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son), for the first time in the lobby of their building. |
| Shin (@neighbor-son) introduces himself but Rin doesn’t catch his name and asks for clarification. |
| Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components, |
| もういちど |
| "one more time" |
| もういちど (enunciated) |
| もういちど |
| ゆっくり |
| "slowly" |
| ゆっくり (enunciated) |
| ゆっくり |
| [CONVERSATION] |
| Listen to the conversation, and focus on Rin (@international-daughter)'s request. |
| Ready? |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): はじめまして。いしかわです。(Hajimemashite. Ishikawa desu.) |
| Rin Sasaki (@international-daughter): すみません、もういちど おねがいします。ゆっくり おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. Yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): い・し・か・わ・です。(Ishikawa desu.) |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): はじめまして。いしかわです。(Hajimemashite. Ishikawa desu.) |
| "Nice to meet you. I'm Ishikawa." |
| Rin Sasaki (@international-daughter): すみません、もういちど おねがいします。ゆっくり おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. Yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| "Excuse me, one more time, please. Slowly, please." |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): い・し・か・わ・です。(Ishikawa desu.) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): "I'm I-shi-ka-wa." |
| [LESSON FOCUS] |
| Let's break down the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Shin introduces himself? |
| "Nice to meet you. I'm Ishikawa." |
| (8 seconds) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): はじめまして。いしかわです。 (Hajimemashite. Ishikawa desu.) |
| [BREAKDOWN] |
| First is はじめまして, meaning, "Nice to meet you." はじめまして。 |
| Next is the sentence, いしかわです, translating as, "I'm Ishikawa." いしかわです。 |
| First is Shin Ishikawa's family name: いしかわ (Ishikawa) い-し-か-わ (slow version - breakdown by syllable). いしかわ。 |
| In Japanese, it’s common for people to introduce themselves with just their family name. |
| Last is です. In this case, it's like the "am" in "I am." It's a linking verb. で-す (slow version - breakdown by syllable). です. |
| Together, it's いしかわです, "I'm Ishikawa." |
| This is the shortened version of わたしは いしかわです。 |
| The first part, わたし は, meaning, "As for me…" is omitted since the context is clear, as Shin, the speaker, is introducing himself. |
| All together, it's はじめまして。いしかわです meaning, "Nice to meet you. I’m Ishikawa." |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): はじめまして。いしかわです。 (Hajimemashite. Ishikawa desu.) |
| Do you remember how Rin says, |
| "Excuse me. One more time, please. Slowly, please." |
| (8 seconds) |
| Rin Sasaki (@international-daughter): すみません、もういちど おねがいします。ゆっくり おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. Yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| First is すみません, meaning "excuse me," in this context. す-み-ま-せ-ん (slow version - breakdown by syllable). すみません. |
| Here, Rin intends to ask Shin to say his name again, so she starts with すみません, "excuse me," before asking him to do so. |
| Next is もういちどおねがいします or "One more time, please." もういちどおねがいします。 |
| This expression has several parts. |
| First is もう, meaning, "more" in this context. も-う (slow version - breakdown by syllable). もう. |
| After this is いちど, "one time." いちど. |
| いち "one." いち. And ど, "time." ど. |
| Together, もういちど, "One more time." もういちど. |
| Last is the phrase おねがいします, "please." お-ね-が-い-し-ま-す (slow version - breakdown by syllable). おねがいします. |
| All together, it's もういちど おねがいします 。Literally, this means, "More one time, please," but it translates as "One more time, please." |
| Rin Sasaki (@international-daughter): もういちど おねがいします。(Mō ichi-do onegai shimasu.) |
| The next sentence is ゆっくり おねがいします, "Slowly, please." ゆっくり おねがいします。 |
| First, ゆっくり "slowly." ゆっ-く-り (slow version - breakdown by syllable). ゆっくり. |
| Pronunciation note: The small つ in ゆっくり, is not pronounced as つ, but it indicates a pause. Listen again to the pronunciation: ゆっくり. ゆっくり. |
| Next is おねがいします, "please." おねがいします. |
| Together, ゆっくり おねがいします "Slowly, please." |
| Rin Sasaki (@international-daughter): ゆっくり おねがいします。(Yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| All together, すみません、もういちど おねがいします。ゆっくり おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. Yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| Excuse me. One more time, please. Slowly, please. |
| Do you remember how Shin repeats his name slowly? |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): い・し・か・わ・です。(Ishikawa desu.) |
| いしかわです。 |
| [CULTURAL/LINGUISTIC INSIGHT - Optional] |
| - |
| [ILLUSTRATION BY EXAMPLE] |
| Let’s look at the expressions once more. |
| Listen and repeat. |
| Kana Kano (@host): すみません。(Sumimasen.) |
| "Excuse me." |
| Kana Kano (@host): すみません。 |
| Kana Kano (@host): もういちど おねがいします。(Mō ichi-do onegai shimasu.) |
| "One more time, please." |
| Kana Kano (@host): もういちど おねがいします |
| Kana Kano (@host): ゆっくり おねがいします。(Yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| "Slowly, please." |
| Kana Kano (@host): ゆっくり おねがいします。 |
| Kana Kano (@host): すみません、ゆっくりおねがいします。(Sumimasen, yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| "Excuse me, slowly please." |
| Kana Kano (@host): すみません、ゆっくりおねがいします。 |
| Kana Kano (@host): すみません、もういちどおねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. ) |
| "Excuse me, one more time, please." |
| Kana Kano:すみません、もういちどおねがいします。 |
| Kana Kano (@host): すみません、もういちどおねがいします。ゆっくりおねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. Yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| "Excuse me, one more time, please. Slowly, please." |
| Kana Kano (@host): すみません、もういちどおねがいします。ゆっくりおねがいします。 |
| Kana Kano (@host): わかりません。(Wakarimasen.) |
| "I don't understand." |
| Kana Kano (@host): わかりません。 |
| Kana Kano (@host): かいてください。(Kaite kudasai.) |
| "Please write it down." |
| Kana Kano (@host): かいてください。 |
| [VARIATION] |
| Did you notice the new expressions we used? |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| Kana Kano (@host): わかりません。(Wakarimasen.) かいてください。(Kaite kudasai.) |
| First is わかりません。(Wakarimasen.) |
| "I don't understand." わ-か-り-ま-せ-ん (slow version - breakdown by syllable). わかりません。 |
| Next is かいてください。 |
| "Please write it down." か-い-て-く-だ-さ-い。 (slow version - breakdown by syllable). かいてください。 |
| For now, please remember わかりません。and かいてください。as a set phrases. |
| [KEY VOCABULARY] |
| わかりません。(Wakarimasen.) "I don't understand." わかりません。 |
| かいてください。"Please write it down." かいてください。 |
| [REVIEW] |
| Let's review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after me, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say, |
| "Excuse me." |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| すみません. |
| (1) |
| すみません. |
| And how to say, |
| "One more time." |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| もういちど. |
| (1) |
| もういちど. |
| Do you remember how to say, |
| "please." |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| おねがいします. |
| (1) |
| おねがいします. |
| Do you remember how Rin (@international-daughter) says, |
| "Excuse me. One more time, please." |
| (8 seconds) |
| Rin Sasaki (@international-daughter): すみません、もういちど おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu.) |
| (1) |
| Host as Rin Sasaki (@international-daughter): すみません、もういちど おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu.) |
| Do you remember how to say, "slowly?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| ゆっくり. |
| (1) |
| ゆっくり. |
| Do you remember how Rin (@international-daughter) says, |
| "Slowly, please." |
| (4 seconds) |
| Rin Sasaki (@international-daughter): ゆっくり おねがいします。(Yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| (1) |
| Host as Rin Sasaki (@international-daughter): ゆっくり おねがいします。(Yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| Do you remember how to say "Nice to meet you?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| はじめまして。 |
| (1) |
| はじめまして。 |
| Do you remember how Shin Ishikawa introduces himself? |
| (8 seconds) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): はじめまして。いしかわです。(Hajimemashite. Ishikawa desu.) |
| (1) |
| Host as Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): はじめまして。いしかわです。(Hajimemashite. Ishikawa desu.) |
| Do you remember how to say, |
| "Please write it down." |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| かいてください。 |
| (1) |
| かいてください。 |
| [PRACTICE] |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you're Haruto Sasaki (@international-son). Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son) introduces himself, but you don’t catch his name. Start with “Excuse me,” and ask him to say it one more time. |
| Ready? |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): はじめまして。いしかわです。(Hajimemashite. Ishikawa desu.) |
| (8 seconds) |
| Haruto Sasaki (@international-son): すみません、もういちど おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Haruto Sasaki (@international-son): すみません、もういちど おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu.) |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| (audio prompt followed by karaoke-style practice) |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| Haruto Sasaki (@international-son): すみません、もういちど おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu.) |
| Let’s try another. |
| Imagine you're Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son). Ask Megumi (@international-mom) to say it one more time, and slowly, please. |
| Don’t forget, “Excuse me.” |
| Ready? |
| Megumi Sasaki (@international-mom): はじめまして。ささきめぐみです。(Hajimemashite. Sasaki Megumi desu.) |
| (8 seconds) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): すみません、もういちどおねがいします。ゆっくり おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. Yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| Listen again and repeat: |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): すみません、もういちどおねがいします。ゆっくり おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. Yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| (audio prompt followed by karaoke-style practice) |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): すみません、もういちど おねがいします。ゆっくり おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. Yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| Let’s try one more. |
| Imagine you're Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son). Start with “Excuse me,” and ask Rin Sasaki (@international-daughter) to "please write it down." |
| Ready? |
| Rin Sasaki (@international-daughter): はじめまして。ささきりんです。(Hajimemashite. Sasaki Rin desu.) |
| (8 seconds) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): すみません、かいてください。(Sumimasen, Kaite kudasai.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): すみません、かいてください。(Sumimasen, Kaite kudasai.) |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| (audio prompt followed by karaoke-style practice) |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): すみません、かいてください。(Sumimasen, Kaite kudasai.) |
| [CULTURAL/LINGUISTIC INSIGHT - Optional] |
| - |
| [OUTRO] |
| Well done! This is the end of this lesson. |
| In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in Japanese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of getting clarification on things when you're speaking Japanese. |
| 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. |
| Now you know how to ask for clarification in Japanese. That's all there is to it. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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