Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Natsuko: おはよう、土星の輪。ナツコです。(Ohayō, Dosei no wa. Natsuko desu.)
Yoshi: おはよう、土星の輪。よしです。(Ohayō, Dosei no wa. Yoshi desu.)
Peter: Peter here. Beginner lesson #138. Okay, we have a really interesting location today. So you definitely want to stop by japanesepod101.com. Natsuko-san, what do you think of today’s location?
Natsuko: I hope someone’s there but it might be pretty cold.
Peter: Really cold. Yoshi-san, any hints?
Yoshi: It’s out there.
Peter: You can say that again. Now today we have a really interesting lesson. We are going to talk about embedded questions. Now it's really, really common in Japanese. A lot of times inside the sentence, you will find a question. Really important structure and we are going to cover that today. Now this is a continuation of our ongoing neighbor series and if you recall, it’s one guy Yoshi-san. He is living next door to a famous person and his friend Take came over and went to have a chat with her and now it’s going back and forth. So with that said, here we go.
DIALOGUE
よし (Yoshi) : はい、どうぞ。お入りください。(Hai, dōzo. O-hairi kudasai.)
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : お邪魔します。(Ojama shimasu.)
よし (Yoshi) : すみませんでした。友達の態度はとても悪かったです。申し訳ございません。(Sumimasen deshita. Tomodachi no taido wa totemo warukatta desu. Mōshiwake gozaimasen.)
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : ええ、どういうことですか。(Ee, dō iu koto desu ka.)
よし (Yoshi) : 私の友達はひどかったでしょう。彼には裏表があります。(Watashi no tomodachi wa hidokatta deshō. Kare ni wa uraomote ga arimasu.)
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : ええ、すみません。何を言っているのか、よくわかりません。(Ee, sumimasen. Nani o itte iru no ka, yoku wakarimasen.)
よし (Yoshi) : ええ・・・?(Ee…?)
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : その人はあなたの友達でしょう。(Sono hito wa anata no tomodachi deshō.)
よし (Yoshi) : はい、そうです。(Hai, sō desu.)
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : 彼はとても優しかったですよ。逆に私が悪かったです。謝りに来ました。(Kare wa totemo yasashikatta desu yo. Gyaku ni watashi ga warukatta desu. Ayamari ni kimashita.)
よし (Yoshi) : たけが・・・?(Take ga...?)
Take: もう一度お願いします。ゆっくりお願いします。(Mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. Yukkuri onegai shimasu.)
よし (Yoshi) : はい、どうぞ。お入りください。(Hai, dōzo. O-hairi kudasai.)
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : お邪魔します。(Ojama shimasu.)
よし (Yoshi) : すみませんでした。友達の態度はとても悪かったです。申し訳ございません。(Sumimasen deshita. Tomodachi no taido wa totemo warukatta desu. Mōshiwake gozaimasen.)
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : ええ、どういうことですか。(Ee, dō iu koto desu ka.)
よし (Yoshi) : 私の友達はひどかったでしょう。彼には裏表があります。(Watashi no tomodachi wa hidokatta deshō. Kare ni wa uraomote ga arimasu.)
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : ええ、すみません。何を言っているのか、よくわかりません。(Ee, sumimasen. Nani o itte iru no ka, yoku wakarimasen.)
よし (Yoshi) : ええ・・・?(Ee…?)
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : その人はあなたの友達でしょう。(Sono hito wa anata no tomodachi deshō.)
よし (Yoshi) : はい、そうです。(Hai, sō desu.)
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : 彼はとても優しかったですよ。逆に私が悪かったです。謝りに来ました。(Kare wa totemo yasashikatta desu yo. Gyaku ni watashi ga warukatta desu. Ayamari ni kimashita.)
よし (Yoshi) : たけが・・・?(Take ga...?)
よし (Yoshi) : はい、どうぞ。お入りください。(Hai, dōzo. O-hairi kudasai.)
YOSHI: Yes, please come in.
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : お邪魔します。(Ojama shimasu.)
NEIGHBOR: Thank you.
よし (Yoshi) : すみませんでした。友達の態度はとても悪かったです。申し訳ございません。(Sumimasen deshita. Tomodachi no taido wa totemo warukatta desu. Mōshiwake gozaimasen.)
YOSHI: I'm sorry. My friend's behavior was terrible. My sincerest apologies.
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : ええ、どういうことですか。(Ee, dō iu koto desu ka.)
NEIGHBOR: Huh, what do you mean?
よし (Yoshi) : 私の友達はひどかったでしょう。彼には裏表があります。(Watashi no tomodachi wa hidokatta deshō. Kare ni wa uraomote ga arimasu.)
YOSHI: My friend was awful, wasn't he? He's a two-faced person.
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : ええ、すみません。何を言っているのか、よくわかりません。(Ee, sumimasen. Nani o itte iru no ka, yoku wakarimasen.)
NEIGHBOR: Huh? I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about.
よし (Yoshi) : ええ・・・?(Ee…?)
YOSHI: What…?
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : その人はあなたの友達でしょう。(Sono hito wa anata no tomodachi deshō.)
NEIGHBOR: He's your friend, right?
よし (Yoshi) : はい、そうです。(Hai, sō desu.)
YOSHI: Yeah, he is.
隣の人 (tonari no hito) : 彼はとても優しかったですよ。逆に私が悪かったです。謝りに来ました。(Kare wa totemo yasashikatta desu yo. Gyaku ni watashi ga warukatta desu. Ayamari ni kimashita.)
NEIGHBOR: He was very kind. On the contrary, it was I who was bad. I came to apologize.
よし (Yoshi) : たけが・・・?(Take ga...?)
YOSHI: Take was...?
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Peter: Yoshi-san, let’s ask Natsuko-san what she thought of today’s conversation.
Yoshi: ナツコさん、この先どうなるんでしょうね。(Natsuko-san, kono saki dō naru n deshō ne.)
Natsuko: そうですね、ちょっとわからないんですけど、たけとよしが喧嘩しなければいいなあと思います。(Sō desu ne, chotto wakaranai n desu kedo, Take to Yoshi ga kenka shinakereba ii nā to omoimasu.)
Peter: Yoshi-san, one more time.
Yoshi: ナツコさん、この先どうなるんでしょうね。(Natsuko-san, kono saki dō naru n deshō ne.)
Peter: Natsuko, what do you think will happen from here?
Natsuko: そうですね、ちょっとよくわからないんですけど。(Sō desu ne, chotto yoku wakaranai n desu kedo.)
Peter: Umm I am not really sure but…
Natsuko: たけとよしが喧嘩をしなければいいなあと思います。(Take to Yoshi ga kenka o shinakereba ii nā to omoimasu.)
Peter: If they don’t fight, it will be really good. ナツコさん、私の意見は逆です。(Natsuko-san, watashi no iken wa gyaku desu.) I want them to fight.
Natsuko: Why? For what?
Peter: For a video cast. All right, I am getting a little carried away. Right now, you know it. Now you got it, right?
Natsuko: ピーター、変。(Pītā, hen.)
Peter: Natsuko-san, can I ask you a question? How long have you been doing this? You just realized now? Okay, so let’s get into today’s vocabulary.
VOCAB LIST
Natsuko: 最初のキーワードは、裏表 (Saisho no kīwādo wa, uraomote)
Peter: Double dealing.
Natsuko: (slow) うらおもて (uraomote) (natural speed) 裏表 (uraomote)
Peter: Now let’s take a look at the characters inside of this word. There are two kanji that make up this word. Natsuko-san, what does the first character mean?
Natsuko: Backside.
Peter: And what does the second character mean?
Natsuko: Front side.
Peter: You have the back side and the front side. So both sides.
Natsuko: Like a coin.
Peter: Like yeah or like our next sample sentence.
Natsuko: そのシャツ裏表反対ですよ。(Sono shatsu uraomote hantai desu yo.)
Peter: That shirt is inside out. Inside and outside are opposite, inside out. Now in today’s dialogue, we had a negative meaning. He is two-faced. Can you tell us a little bit about this meaning, he has two sides to him?
Natsuko: Yes, so I think this means he wears a different face outside.
Peter: Two-faced.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: So he could be nice outside but back at home he could be terrible or it can be the opposite.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Two-faced, not a good thing, right?
Natsuko: Generally.
Peter: Generally, got it. Yoshi, next we have
Yoshi: 謝る (ayamaru)
Peter: To apologize.
Yoshi: (slow) あやまる (ayamaru) (natural speed) 謝る (ayamaru)
Peter: Sample sentence, please.
Yoshi: 窓を割った事を先生に謝る。(Mado o watta koto o sensei ni ayamaru.)
Peter: I apologize to the teacher for breaking the window. One more.
Yoshi: 謝る事はありませんよ。(Ayamaru koto wa arimasen yo.)
Peter: There is nothing to apologize about. Next.
Natsuko: 謝り (ayamari)
Peter: Apology.
Natsuko: (slow) あやまり (ayamari) (natural speed) 謝り (ayamari)
Peter: Finally.
Yoshi: 逆に (gyaku ni)
Peter: On the contrary.
Yoshi: (slow) ぎゃくに (gyaku ni) (natural speed) 逆に (gyaku ni)
Peter: What do we have?
Yoshi: 薬を飲んで逆に悪くなった。(Kusuri o nonde gyaku ni waruku natta.)
Peter: On the contrary, I took medicine but I got worse. Now let’s talk about the word inside this expression. 逆に (gyaku ni) is an expression meaning on the contrary and it comes from the word.
Natsuko: 逆 (gyaku)
Peter: Opposite. Now previously when we were talking about watching a fight.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: I said 私は逆 (watashi wa gyaku), I am the opposite of you. I am reversed. Literally I am the opposite and we are talking about Natsuko’s opinion. So I am on the other side of your opinion. I want to see them go at it. Is that wrong, Natsuko?
Natsuko: Ah…
Peter: Okay, don’t answer that but back to this word. So 逆 (gyaku) is reverse, opposite. Can you give us an example?
Natsuko: 方向が逆だよ。(Hōkō ga gyaku da yo.)
Peter: It’s the opposite direction. Okay, now let’s take a look inside the conversation. Yoshi will read for Yoshi and Natsuko will read for the neighbor.
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Yoshi: はい、どうぞお入りください。(Hai, dōzo o-hairi kudasai.)
Peter: Polite greeting for when someone comes to visit the house. Now let me pose this question to you. Natsuko-san and Yoshi-san, when you use this, do you use it with friends too or a bit more formal situations?
Natsuko: I think it's a bit formal.
Peter: In this case, the neighbor and Yoshi are not so close. So it’s a formal situation.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: And in the formal situation, inviting someone in はい、どうぞお入りください (hai, dōzo o-hairi kudasai). This was followed by the neighbor saying
Natsuko: おじゃまします。(Ojama shimasu.)
Peter: Literally I am going to disturb you and there is no direct translation. It’s a set expression used when you go to visit someone’s house by the party entering the house. Previously Natsuko-san said, you may or may not use this polite Japanese when a friend comes to visit but this expression, I even use when I go to see friends.
Natsuko: Yes, there's nothing wrong about you being polite.
Peter: Yeah. Informal or formal situations both it’s used quite often.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Okay, so these are two set phrases. Then we have
Yoshi: すみませんでした。(Sumimasen deshita.)
Peter: I am sorry. We had a past tense here of すみませんでした (sumimasen deshita).
Yoshi: 友達の態度は悪かったです。(Tomodachi no taido wa warukatta desu.)
Peter: Let’s take a look at the first part. We have
Yoshi: 友達 (tomodachi)
Peter: Friend.
Yoshi: の (no)
Peter: Possessive here. So we have friend’s.
Yoshi: 態度 (taido)
Peter: Attitude.
Yoshi: は (wa)
Peter: Marked by the particle は (wa). So we have a friend's attitude.
Yoshi: とても (totemo)
Peter: Very.
Yoshi: 悪かったです (warukatta desu)
Peter: Was bad. “Friend’s attitude very was bad.” Again literal. Now let’s interpret this. My friend’s behavior was really bad. That’s how it’s interpreted, followed by the sentence
Yoshi: 申し訳ございません。(Mōshiwake gozaimasen.)
Peter: We covered this in the previous lesson. The literal translation here is I am sorry is how we interpret this. My friend’s behavior was very bad. I am sorry.
Natsuko: ええ、どういう事ですか。(Ee, dō iu koto desu ka.)
Peter: Now this interjection ええ (ee), can be used in many different ways. They actually had a TV program of I think 8 different definitions depending on the intonation and the person saying it. Now here it’s used as an interjection expressing surprise. What, because obviously she's out of the loop. She doesn’t know that Take told Yoshi that he was very mean to her. So she is out of the loop. So she has an interjection of surprise, followed by
Natsuko: どういう事ですか。(Dō iu koto desu ka.)
Peter: What are you talking about? This is followed by
Yoshi: 私の友達はひどかったでしょう。(Watashi no tomodachi wa hidokatta desshō.)
Peter: My friend was bad, right? Now this right comes from
Yoshi: でしょう (deshō)
Peter: Here it’s used to confirm it. He thinks that it’s one way but he is not sure. So he is adding this on and he wants response, he wants a response from the listening party, followed by
Yoshi: 彼には裏表があります。(Kare ni wa uraomote ga arimasu.)
Peter: He is a two-faced person and here the point to notice is the particle
Yoshi: には (ni wa)
Peter: He かれ (kare), followed by に (ni) to. He to, is literal translation but we interpret it as for him, followed by double dealing or two sides. He has these two sides. For him, “these two sides there are” is the literal translation but again we interpret. He has two sides, followed by
Natsuko: ええ、(Ee,)
Peter: Again surprise, interjection of surprise, hah!
Natsuko: すみません。(sumimasen.)
Peter: I am sorry.
Natsuko: 何を言っているのか、よくわかりません。(Nani o itte iru no ka, yoku wakarimasen.)
Peter: I have no idea what you are saying, what you are talking about after we interpret but what we are going to do now is break it down. Here we have a question. Natsuko-san, what’s that question?
Natsuko: 何を言っているのか (nani o itte iru no ka)
Peter: What are saying and again, here the subject is inferred. You are asking the person who you are having the conversation with. “You what are saying.” Again it is just we got to reverse it around, what are you saying. Then it’s followed by
Natsuko: よくわかりません (yoku wakarimasen)
Peter: Again here the person who doesn’t understand is the speaker. So I don’t understand, I don’t really understand. Then we take the question and put it afterwards. I don’t really understand what you are talking about. And this is a pattern that’s used in Japanese really often, the embedded question. Question comes first followed by what the subject, the speaker is thinking. Okay, more about this inside the PDF, today’s grammar point. Okay, we are running really short on time. So let’s just run through the rest of it. This is followed by, again, an interjection.
Yoshi: ええ・・・(Ee…)
Peter: Now this time Yoshi doesn’t understand. You can see these interjections going back and forth. The neighbor says
Natsuko: その人はあなたの友達でしょう。(Sono hito wa anata no tomodachi deshō)
Peter: Again here でしょう (deshō) is used to confirm something. That person is your friend, right? Again she has some ideas here.
Yoshi: はい、そうです。(Hai, sō desu.)
Peter: Yeah, that’s right.
Natsuko: 彼はとても優しかったですよ。(Kare wa totemo yasashikatta desu yo.)
Peter: He was really nice.
Natsuko: 逆に私が悪かったです。(Gyaku ni watashi ga warukatta desu.)
Peter: On the contrary, I was bad.
Natsuko: 謝りに来ました。(Ayamarini kimashita.)
Peter: I came to apologize.
Yoshi: たけが・・・?(Take ga…?)

Outro

Peter: And then he is confused now. So he is – you are talking about my friend because he has heard two different versions of the story right now. Now, what happens? We will have to wait till next week to find out. All right, stop by, say hi and if you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. That’s going to do it for today.
Natsuko: じゃ、また明日ね。(Ja, mata ashita ne.)
Yoshi: またね。(Mata ne.)

Kanji

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