Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Natsuko: ナツコです。(Natsuko desu.)
Peter: Peter here. Beginner lesson #157. A Farming Affair. Natsuko-san,
Natsuko: はい。(Hai.)
Peter: It is so great to be back.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: We are back since yesterday but I mean it is just great to be doing this again every day. And in honor of this special day, we are bringing back the bonus track.
Natsuko: Oh wow!
Peter: That’s right and if there ever was a bonus track, I think this is the one you want to pick up.
Natsuko: Definitely.
Peter: Now there are a few things behind this that we want to take a couple of seconds to explain.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Now Yoshikai-san, again he is aiming to be a voice actor and he is talented.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Now in today’s bonus track, he does a voice. He is saying the same thing, almost the same thing but please try and listen and see if you can understand what he is saying because this voice is very unique.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: I am always talking about these mumbling older men. Natsuko-san?
Natsuko: Yes and this one, you got to hear it. I mean mumbling and mumbling and mumbling…
Peter: To a whole new level. Now what’s interesting about this bonus track is, it may not be that interesting for you.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: When I first heard Yoshikai, it was difficult. I didn’t understand.
Natsuko: Yeah.
Peter: But I was here with some other Japanese people and they were crying. Here it’s like it was so funny for them. Now Natsuko-san, why is this funny?
Natsuko: Because he is imitating a famous actor.
Peter: Who is the actor?
Natsuko: 田中邦衛 (Tanaka Kunie)
Peter: Break that down.
Natsuko: たなかくにえ (Tanaka Kunie) and he is most famous for the role in a very popular drama, called 北の国から (Kita no kuni kara).
Peter: Which is
Natsuko: From the Northern country.
Peter: Now tell us a little bit about this drama. When was this drama playing or is it old?
Natsuko: Ah yes, it’s pretty old. I think the first…
Natsuko: Because I was already there. It is pretty old but I was already watching that. Well I think the first TV series started around 20 years ago.
Peter: Wow!
Natsuko: And because it was so popular, it was made into movies again and again and you know, the people growing up accordingly and I think the final episode is already completed as a movie.
Peter: Really?
Natsuko: Uhoo. So I think it’s available for rental.
Peter: Got it. So this is very, very well known.
Natsuko: Yes, and it’s a story in 北海道 (Hokkaido), 富良野 (Furano). It’s a very, very rural country, nothing but snow.
Peter: Nothing but snow.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: So this is a rural older man’s voice that he is doing.
Natsuko: Right.
Peter: You have to hear it, like listen to it a few times because he is saying the same thing. It’s really, really great.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Now for those of you with the premium feed, this is downloadable right through that. So it will come right through iTunes for you. So you can actually listen to that side by side.
Natsuko: Oh you can’t miss this.
Peter: It’s just phenomenal. Please do us a favor and then if you know some Japanese people, let them listen to it.
Natsuko: Yeah.
Peter: Because they will get a real kick out of it. All right, Natsuko-san, what an opening!
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: But what a bonus track again. All right, back on track. Here we go, let’s get into today’s lesson. Here we go.
DIALOGUE
お父さん (o-tō-san) : ね、宏、パパに手を貸して。(Ne, Hiroshi, papa ni te o kashite.)
子供 (kodomo) : パパは何してる?(Papa wa nani shite ru?)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : かかしを立ててる。(Kakashi o tatete ru.)
子供 (kodomo) : やだ!そのかかしが怖い。(Yada! Sono kakashi ga kowai.)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : それが目的だよ。怖くないと、カラスにとうもろこしを食べられるよ。(Sore ga mokuteki da yo. Kowakunai to, karasu ni tōmorokoshi o taberareru yo.)
子供 (kodomo) : カラスがとうもろこしを食べる?(Karasu ga tōmorokoshi o taberu?)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : そうだよ。全部!だから、このかかしがある。(Sō da yo. Zenbu! Dakara, kono kakashi ga aru.)
子供 (kodomo) : ね、パパ、「カラスにとうもろこしを食べられる」と「カラスがとうもろこしを食べる」…。同じことを言ってるね。(Ne, papa, “karasu ni tōmorokoshi o taberareru” to “karasu ga tōmorokoshi o taberu” ... Onaji koto o itte ru ne.)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : そうだ。(Sō da.)
子供 (kodomo) : 何が違う?(Nani ga chigau?)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : 文法。(Bunpō.)
子供 (kodomo) : 文法って何?(Bunpō tte nani?)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : 文法ってパパが高校卒業できないように、作られたものさ。(Bunpō tte papa ga kōkō sotsugyō dekinai yō ni, tsukurareta mono sa.)
Yoshiaki: 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.)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : ね、宏、パパに手を貸して。(Ne, Hiroshi, papa ni te o kashite.)
子供 (kodomo) : パパは何してる?(Papa wa nani shite ru?)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : かかしを立ててる。(Kakashi o tatete ru.)
子供 (kodomo) : やだ!そのかかしが怖い。(Yada! Sono kakashi ga kowai.)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : それが目的だよ。怖くないと、カラスにとうもろこしを食べられるよ。(Sore ga mokuteki da yo. Kowakunai to, karasu ni tōmorokoshi o taberareru yo.)
子供 (kodomo) : カラスがとうもろこしを食べる?(Karasu ga tōmorokoshi o taberu?)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : そうだよ。全部!だから、このかかしがある。(Sō da yo. Zenbu! Dakara, kono kakashi ga aru.)
子供 (kodomo) : ね、パパ、「カラスにとうもろこしを食べられる」と「カラスがとうもろこしを食べる」…。同じことを言ってるね。(Ne, papa, “karasu ni tōmorokoshi o taberareru” to “karasu ga tōmorokoshi o taberu” ... Onaji koto o itte ru ne.)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : そうだ。(Sō da.)
子供 (kodomo) : 何が違う?(Nani ga chigau?)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : 文法。(Bunpō.)
子供 (kodomo) : 文法って何?(Bunpō tte nani?)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : 文法ってパパが高校卒業できないように、作られたものだ。(Bunpō tte papa ga kōkō sotsugyō dekinai yō ni, tsukurareta mono da.)
Natsuko: 次は、ピーターさんの英語が入ります。(Tsugi wa, Pītā-san no Eigo ga hairimasu.)
お父さん (o-tō-san) : ね、宏、パパに手を貸して。(Ne, Hiroshi, papa ni te o kashite.)
FATHER: Hey, Hiroshi, can you help me?
子供 (kodomo) : パパは何してる?(Papa wa nani shite ru?)
CHILD: What are you doing?
お父さん (o-tō-san) : かかしを立ててる。(Kakashi o tatete ru.)
FATHER: I'm standing like a scarecrow.
子供 (kodomo) : やだ!そのかかしが怖い。(Yada! Sono kakashi ga kowai.)
CHILD: Oh, no, I can't! It's scary.
お父さん (o-tō-san) : それが目的だよ。怖くないと、カラスにとうもろこしを食べられるよ。(Sore ga mokuteki da yo. Kowakunai to, karasu ni tōmorokoshi o taberareru yo.)
FATHER: That's the point. If it's not scary, it could not stop crows from eating sweet corn.
子供 (kodomo) : カラスがとうもろこしを食べる?(Karasu ga tōmorokoshi o taberu?)
CHILD: Do crows eat sweet corn?
お父さん (o-tō-san) : そうだよ。全部!だから、このかかしがある。(Sō da yo. Zenbu! Dakara, kono kakashi ga aru.)
FATHER: Yes, they do. They would eat everything! That's why we need this scarecrow.
子供 (kodomo) : ね、パパ、「カラスにとうもろこしを食べられる」と「カラスがとうもろこしを食べる」…。同じことを言ってるね。(Ne, papa, “karasu ni tōmorokoshi o taberareru” to “karasu ga tōmorokoshi o taberu” ... Onaji koto o itte ru ne.)
CHILD: Hmm, Dad, you said sweet corn is eaten by crows and crows eat sweet corn. These are the same, right?
お父さん (o-tō-san) : そうだ。(Sō da.)
FATHER: That's right.
子供 (kodomo) : 何が違う?(Nani ga chigau?)
CHILD: What's the difference?
お父さん (o-tō-san) : 文法。(Bunpō.)
FATHER: The grammar.
子供 (kodomo) : 文法って何?(Bunpō tte nani?)
CHILD: What's grammar?
お父さん (o-tō-san) : 文法ってパパが高校卒業できないように、作られたものさ。(Bunpō tte papa ga kōkō sotsugyō dekinai yō ni, tsukurareta mono sa.)
FATHER: Grammar was something made to prevent me from graduating from high school.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Peter: ナツコさん、今日の会話どう思いますか。(Natsuko-san, kyō no kaiwa dō omoimasu ka.)
Natsuko: これは北海道の話なんでしょうかね。(Kore wa Hokkaidō no hanashi nan deshō ka ne.)
Peter: Yeah, I think this is a Hokkaido story but I guess it could happen anywhere.
Natsuko: Umm, right.
Peter: Seems like – it seems probably in Ibaraki.
Natsuko: Oh really?
Peter: I think so.
Natsuko: Do they grow corn in Ibaraki?
Peter: Ah, good point.
Natsuko: Maybe.
Peter: And speaking of corn, you know this is the first time I’ve heard about this too but let’s save that for the vocab and now let’s get into the vocab. Natsuko-san, first word please.
VOCAB LIST
Natsuko: 貸す (kasu)
Peter: To lend.
Natsuko: (slow) かす (kasu) (natural speed) 貸す (kasu) 
「手を貸す」は「手伝う」と同じ意味です。(“Te o kasu” wa “tetsudau” to onaji imi desu.)
Peter: So the expression to lend the hand means the same thing as to help. This is a great expression.
Natsuko: Yes, it’s the same in English.
Peter: Yeah.
Natsuko: Lend a hand.
Peter: Yeah, lend a hand. So one thing about this verb. Natsuko-san, how do you say I lend you?
Natsuko: 貸す (kasu)
Peter: Now when lending somebody something, sometimes we attach a giving and receiving verb. What verb do you attach when you are lending it to someone else?
Natsuko: 貸してあげる (kashite ageru)
Peter: Yes. Now the flipside of that is if I wanted to borrow something from Natsuko-san and I grabbed it, 勝手に (katte ni) like I took it, I took my own ambitions and I took my own initiative, I kind of made it so that she was lending it to me. I could say 貸してもらう (kashite morau).
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Okay, so that means I am taking it and she is kind of indirectly lending it to me.
Natsuko: Right.
Peter: I can say that, 貸してもらう (kashite morau).
Natsuko: 貸してあげる (kashite ageru)
Peter: Ah thank you so much, Natsuko-san. Now let’s look at the flipside. What’s the verb to borrow?
Natsuko: 借りる (kariru)
Peter: So if I wanted to borrow something, what phrase would I use?
Natsuko: 借りてもいいですか (karite mo ii desu ka)
Peter: Now jumping back to this 貸してあげる (kashite ageru), this is kind of in the case where you take the initiative to lend it to somebody. Maybe hear Natsuko-san talking to Sakura-san, how she needs a certain item, then I would kind of interject with あ、貸してあげます (a, kashite agemasu), like I will lend it to you.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: And again, if I take something on my own 貸してもらう (kashite morau), but usually when Natsuko-san is not at her desk.
Natsuko: Oh my god! I got to check my desk.
Peter: I am saying it out loud. I am saying it to you….
Natsuko: Okay, okay….
Peter: It’s just you are not there…but usually yeah, when you want to borrow something, it’s 借りてもいいですか (karite mo ii desu ka), may I borrow it.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Okay, a few important phrases surrounding these words. Next we have
Natsuko: 立てる (tateru)
Peter: To stand.
Natsuko: (slow) たてる (tateru) (natural speed) 立てる (tateru)
Peter: Next we have
Natsuko: かかし (kakashi)
Peter: Scarecrow.
Natsuko: (slow) かかし (kakashi) (natural speed) かかし (kakashi)
Peter: Great vocab word. Next.
Natsuko: 怖い (kowai)
Peter: Scary, frightening.
Natsuko: (slow) こわい (kowai) (natural speed) 怖い (kowai)
Peter: Next we have
Natsuko: 目的 (mokuteki)
Peter: Purpose, aim, goal.
Natsuko: (slow) もくてき (mokuteki) (natural speed) 目的 (mokuteki)
Peter: Next up.
Natsuko: カラス (karasu)
Peter: Crow.
Natsuko: (slow) からす (karasu) (natural speed) カラス (karasu)
Peter: And just hit that first syllable quite hard because sometimes I misunderstood クラス (kurasu), which means
Natsuko: Class.
Peter: Yeah. And sometimes I don’t hit that か (ka) and it sounds more like a く (ku).
Natsuko: Right.
Peter: クラス (kurasu)
Natsuko: Completely different.
Peter: Completely different. Sample sentence, please.
Natsuko: カラスは人の顔を覚えることができます。(Karasu wa hito no kao o oboeru koto ga dekimasu.)
Peter: Crows can remember people’s faces. 本当ですか。(Hontō desu ka.)
Natsuko: どうなんでしょうね。(Dō nan deshō ne.)
Peter: I think... そうと思いますよ (sō to omoimasu yo).
Natsuko: Umm, they are pretty smart.
Peter: I think it’s possible, yeah.
Natsuko: Especially crows in Tokyo. They are pretty smart.
Peter: Natsuko, what are you trying to say? Japan has the smartest crows?
Natsuko: It’s because I think they have to be smart to live in such a crowded and noisy city.
Peter: Yeah. We can go on and on about these but let’s go on to the next one. Next we have
Natsuko: とうもろこし (tōmorokoshi)
Peter: Sweet corn.
Natsuko: (slow) とうもろこし (tōmorokoshi) (natural speed) とうもろこし (tōmorokoshi)
Peter: Quite an interesting word because before this lesson, I never heard of it.
Natsuko: Oh really?
Peter: Yeah, always コーン (kōn) with the long vowel.
Natsuko: Aha!
Peter: Natsuko-san, can you give us the right pronunciation there?
Natsuko: (natural speed) コーン (kōn) (slow) こーん (kōn)
Peter: Yeah, so I’ve always heard this. So I have never heard of this word.
Natsuko: Oh really, like when you go to the fair, there’s 焼きとうもろこし (yakitōmorokoshi).
Peter: Really? What is the fair?
Natsuko: Well, haven’t you been to 花火大会 (hanabi taikai)?
Peter: Yes.
Natsuko: I think there is a stand for 焼きとうもろこし (yakitōmorokoshi).
Peter: Really?
Natsuko: Which is roasted sweet corn.
Peter: Yeah. Well I am going to keep an eye on it because yeah I like – I just never heard this word.
Natsuko: Oh really?
Peter: Yeah.
Natsuko: Interesting.
Peter: Really interesting. So it’s quite a common word. All right, next up.
Natsuko: 同じ (onaji)
Peter: Same, identical.
Natsuko: (slow) おなじ (onaji) (natural speed) 同じ (onaji)
Peter: Next we have
Natsuko: 違う (chigau)
Peter: To differ.
Natsuko: (slow) ちがう (chigau) (natural speed) 違う (chigau)
Peter: Next.
Natsuko: 文法 (bunpō)
Peter: Grammar.
Natsuko: (slow) ぶんぽう (bunpō) (natural speed) 文法 (bunpō)
Peter: Sample sentence, please.
Natsuko: 日本語の文法は難しいです。(Nihon-go no bunpō wa muzukashii desu.)
Peter: Japanese grammar is difficult. 難しくないです。(Muzukashikunai desu.) It’s not difficult.
Natsuko: 英語と同じくらいですよね。(Eigo to onaji kurai desu yo ne.)
Peter: About the same as English?
Natsuko: Uho.
Peter: 違います。英語の方が難しいでしょ。(Chigaimasu. Eigo no hō ga muzukashii desho.)
Natsuko: どうかな。(Dō ka na.)
Peter: English is more difficult.
Natsuko: Well maybe there are different opinions.
Peter: Yeah, oh yeah. My opinion is Japanese but after kind of lining them up side by side, all the different tenses, oh you know Japanese is pretty straightforward. Past, non-past.
Natsuko: Yes, right.
Peter: In that aspect, it’s pretty good.
Natsuko: Uho…
Peter: It’s just the verb at the end.
Natsuko: Does that trouble you?
Peter: Yeah.
Natsuko: Oh!
Peter: How about this? 両方とも難しいです。(Ryōhō tomo muzukashii desu.)
Natsuko: 両方とも簡単です。(Ryōhō tomo kantan desu.)
Peter: Even better, both are easy as opposed to both are difficult in my case.
Natsuko: Well in my case... Well, let’s move on.
Peter: All right, next we have
Natsuko: 高校 (kōkō)
Peter: Senior high school.
Natsuko: (slow) こうこう (kōkō) (natural speed) 高校 (kōkō)
Peter: Next.
Natsuko: 卒業 (sotsugyō)
Peter: Graduation.
Natsuko: (slow) そつぎょう (sotsugyō) (natural speed) 卒業 (sotsugyō)
Peter: How about a sample sentence including this word and the previous one?
Natsuko: 多くの人が高校を卒業すると、大学に行きます。(Ōku no hito ga kōkō o sotsugyō suru to, daigaku ni ikimasu.)
Peter: A lot of people go on to university when they graduate high school. Next up.
Natsuko: 全部 (zenbu)
Peter: All, entire.
Natsuko: (slow) ぜんぶ (zenbu) (natural speed) 全部 (zenbu)

Lesson focus

Peter: Okay Natsuko-san, finally on to our grammar point. Natsuko-san, today’s grammar point is
Natsuko: Passive for class 2 verbs.
Peter: Now a helpful way to remember class 1 verbs and actually this is from one of the listeners.
Natsuko: Wow!
Peter: Belton-san, actually Belton-sensei now. He said, a nice way to remember class 1 verbs is to use the plain negative stem which is what we attach
Natsuko: ない (nai)
Peter: To, for example, what is the plain negative of 読む (yomu), to read?
Natsuko: 読まない (yomanai)
Peter: Now if we leave off the ない (nai), we have
Natsuko: よま (yoma)
Peter: The plain negative stem and then we attach.
Natsuko: れる (reru)
Peter: To get the passive.
Natsuko: 読まれる (yomareru)
Peter: Works very nice.
Natsuko: Perfect.
Peter: Perfect but in the case of class 2 verbs, we take the masu-stem and we add
Natsuko: られる (rareru)
Peter: So in the case of 食べる (taberu) to eat, we have the masu-stem
Natsuko: たべ (tabe)
Peter: To this we add
Natsuko: られる (rareru)
Peter: And Natsuko-san, the first time I learned this, what jumped out at me was this is the same as the potential 食べられる (taberareru), to be able to eat.
Natsuko: Yes, same.
Peter: It’s the same!
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: So how do we know the difference?
Natsuko: You have to figure it out by context.
Peter: Yes. Faster with that context I think I was shocked for one. You got to figure it out from the context. The particles will indicate it all. Let’s take a quick look at today’s conversation. Where do we have the passive?
Natsuko: カラスにとうもろこしを食べられる。(Karasu ni tōmorokoshi o taberareru.)
Peter: The crows, they are marked by what particle?
Natsuko: に (ni)
Peter: Followed by
Natsuko: とうもろこし (tōmorokoshi)
Peter: The object, marked by
Natsuko: を (o)
Peter: And then finally we have
Natsuko: 食べられる (taberareru)
Peter: So we have corn that was eaten by the crows. Now again if we change just one thing in this sentence, if we change the に (ni), the particle に (ni) to a topic marking particle
Natsuko: は (wa)
Peter: To get
Natsuko: カラスはとうもろこしを食べられる。(Karasu wa tōmorokoshi o taberareru.)
Peter: Crows can eat corn.
Natsuko: Right.
Peter: So the particles are the key to deciphering it.
Natsuko: Uhoo…
Peter: Now again more about this inside the PDF. We’re running short on time today but yes, you got to watch the particles when you see the class 2, られる (rareru).
Natsuko: Yes, because it’s the same with the potential.
Peter: Yeah, and as Natsuko said, not only the particles, also context.
Natsuko: Yes, because in casual language, sometimes you know, they omit objects or maybe the topic.
Peter: Yeah, so here the particle worked out but sometimes yeah it’s from the context.

Outro

Peter: So again more about this inside the PDF plus next week another lesson coming up about this. We are going to continue on till you really get the hang of it. That’s going to do for today.
Natsuko: じゃあ、また明日。(Jā, mata ashita.)

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