Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Natsuko: こんにちは、ナツコです。 (Konnichiwa, Natsuko desu.)
Naomi: ナオミです。 (Naomi desu.)
Peter: Peter here. Lowest Property. Natsuko-san,
Natsuko: こんにちは。お久しぶりです。 (Konnichiwa. Ohisashiburi desu.)
Peter: お久しぶりです。ナツコさんが戻ってきました。 (Ohisashiburi desu. Natsuko-san ga modotte kimashita.) Natsuko-san is back.
Natsuko: どうも、長らくご無沙汰しました。 (Dōmo, nagaraku gobusata shimashita.)
Peter: Well Natsuko-san, you are going to have to explain that in the comments because that is a quite difficult phrase.
Natsuko: Yeah.
Peter: That intermediate, you got to leave that intermediate mentality…
Natsuko: You are right…
Peter: We will do the beginner season 2. Now, but what Natsuko-san gave us was a great phrase. One more time please
Natsuko: 長らくご無沙汰しました。 (Nagaraku gobusata shimashita.)
Peter: What is the first part of that?
Natsuko: 長らく (Nagaraku) means “for a long time.”
Peter: Just break it down.
Natsuko: な・が・ら・く (Na ga-ra ku)
Peter: な・が・ら・く「長らく」 (Na ga-ra ku `nagaraku')
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Followed by
Natsuko: ご無沙汰しました。 (Gobusata shimashita.)
Peter: Which is “it’s been a long time” or “literally, I’ve been silent for a long time.”
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: So “a long time, I’ve been silent for a long time.” So “it’s been a long time.”
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: But Natsuko-san, it is great to have you back.
Natsuko: ありがとうございます。よろしくお願いします。 (Arigatōgozaimasu. Yoroshikuonegaishimasu.)
Peter: Naomi-sensei, what are we talking about today?
Naomi: 今日は忘れ物。 (Kyō wa wasuremono.)
Peter: So lost and found, something forgotten. The conversation is between?
Naomi: 大学生 (daigakusei)
Peter: University student and
Natsuko: スタッフ (sutaffu)
Naomi Peter: So someone who works at the library because this is where this conversation takes place. Okay, so with that said, let’s take a look at today’s lesson.
DIALOGUE
図書館にて 忘れ物
Toshokan nite, wasuremono
大学生:すいません。忘れ物は届いていませんか?
Daigakusei: Suimasen. Wasuremono wa todoite imasen ka?
スタッフ:何を忘れたんですか?
Sutaffu: Nani o wasureta n desu ka?
大学生:オープンエリアに財布を忘れてしまったんです。
Daigakusei: Ōpun eria ni saifu o wasurete shimatta n desu.
スタッフ:何時くらいですか?
Sutaffu: Nanji kurai desu ka?
大学生:2時過ぎだと思います。
Daigakusei: Ni ji sugi da to omoimasu.
スタッフ:届いているとしたら、受付にあると思うので、入口の受付で聞いてもらえますか?
Sutaffu: Todoite iru to shitara, uketsuke ni aru to omou node, iriguchi no uketsuke de kiite moraemasu ka?
大学生:はい。わかりました。
Daigakusei: Hai. Wakarimashita.
もう一度お願いします。ゆっくりお願いします。
(Mōichido onegaishimasu. Yukkuri onegaishimasu.)
大学生:すいません。忘れ物は届いていませんか?
Daigakusei: Suimasen. Wasuremono wa todoite imasen ka?
スタッフ:何を忘れたんですか?
Sutaffu: Nani o wasureta n desu ka?
大学生:オープンエリアに財布を忘れてしまったんです。
Daigakusei: Ōpun eria ni saifu o wasurete shimatta n desu.
スタッフ:何時くらいですか?
Sutaffu: Nanji kurai desu ka?
大学生:2時過ぎだと思います。
Daigakusei: Ni ji sugi da to omoimasu.
スタッフ:届いているとしたら、受付にあると思うので、入口の受付で聞いてもらえますか?
Sutaffu: Todoite iru to shitara, uketsuke ni aru to omou node, iriguchi no uketsuke de kiite moraemasu ka?
大学生:はい。わかりました。
Daigakusei: Hai. Wakarimashita.
今度は英語が入ります。
(Kondo wa eigo ga hairimasu.)
図書館にて 忘れ物
Toshokan nite, wasuremono
At the library. A lost item
大学生:すいません。忘れ物は届いていませんか?
Daigakusei: Suimasen. Wasuremono wa todoite imasen ka?
University student: Excuse me. Have any lost items been brought in?
スタッフ:何を忘れたんですか?
Sutaffu: Nani o wasureta n desu ka?
Staff: What did you lose?
大学生:オープンエリアに財布を忘れてしまったんです。
Daigakusei: Ōpun eria ni saifu o wasurete shimatta n desu.
University student: I forgot my wallet in the open area.
スタッフ:何時くらいですか?
Sutaffu: Nanji kurai desu ka.?
Staff: Around what time?
大学生:2時過ぎだと思います。
Daigakusei: Ni ji sugi da to omoimasu.
University student: I think it was a little bit past two o'clock.
スタッフ:届いているとしたら、受付にあると思うので、入口の受付で聞いてもらえますか?
Sutaffu: Todoite iru to shitara, uketsuke ni aru to omou node, iriguchi no uketsuke de kiite moraemasu ka?
Staff: If it was brought here, it would be at the reception desk. So can you ask at the reception desk?
大学生:はい。わかりました。
Daigakusei: Hai. Wakarimashita.
University student: Sure. Thank you.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Peter: Okay Naomi-sensei, let’s find out what Natsuko-san thought of today’s conversation. Natsuko-san?
Naomi: 今日の会話、どう思いましたか? (Kyō no kaiwa, dō omoimashita ka?)
Natsuko: 財布が届いているといいですね。 (Saifu ga todoite iru to īdesu ne.)
Peter: It’d be nice if someone does turn it in – the wallet.
Naomi: ここは日本ですからね。届きます。 (Koko wa Nihon desukara ne. Todokimasu.)
Natsuko: なるほど。 (Naruhodo.)
Peter: As it’s Japan, someone definitely will turn it in.
Natsuko: うん。そう信じたいですね。 (Un. Sō shinjitai desu ne.)
Naomi: 80%ぐらい届くんじゃないですかね。 (80-Pāsento gurai todoku n janai desu ka ne.)
Peter: 80% possibility that it will be returned?
Natsuko: そうかもしれませんね。まあ、統計取ったわけじゃないですけどね。 (Sō kamo shiremasen ne. Mā, tōkei totta wake janai desukedo ne.) There is no statistical background but I have a feeling that it will usually turn out.
Peter: I have a feeling too. I mean the most unbelievable thing that ever kind of happened to me was, we were in a 松本 (matsumoto) with my friend and 彼が手袋をなくしてしまったんで (kare ga tebukuro o nakushite shimattande)
Natsuko: グローブですね。 (Gurōbu desu ne.)
Peter: He lost a glove and he called – it was on a bus. He called the bus company.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: And within 30 minutes, they called him back to return one glove.
Naomi: きれいなグローブでしたか? (Kireina gurōbudeshita ka?)
Peter: いやあ、100円……。 (Iyā, 100-en…….)
Naomi: だから (dakara) maybe that’s why.
Natsuko: Oh no one took it. They just left there.
Peter: But still the fact that they actually called him, mind-boggling and usually if you do lose something in Japan, they will hold it for you or even send it to you…
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: By 着払い (Chakubarai) which means you…
Natsuko: You pay that fee…
Peter: Yeah when it gets there. So yeah, I think it’s quite possible.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: So today’s conversation. Let’s take a look at the vocab, what do we have in there?
VOCAB LIST
Natsuko: 忘れ物 (wasuremono)
Peter: Lost property.
Natsuko: わ・す・れ・も・の「忘れ物」 (Wa su re mo no `wasuremono')
Peter: Naomi-sensei, can we ask Natsuko-san if she’s lost anything recently?
Naomi: 最近、忘れ物しましたか? (Saikin, wasuremono shimashita ka?)
Natsuko: はい。傘を忘れました。 (Hai. Kasa o wasuremashita.)
Naomi: どこに忘れましたか? (Doko ni wasuremashita ka?)
Natsuko: お店に。 (O-ten ni.)
Naomi: お店に。 (O-ten ni.)
Peter: So you lost an umbrella?
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: In a store?
Natsuko: Uhoo…
Peter: 私はたぶん、年に6本ぐらい (Watashi wa tabun,-toshi ni 6-pon gurai). In a year, I usually lose about six umbrellas.
Natsuko: One for every two months.
Peter: Yep one every two months.
Natsuko: まあ、でも傘はよく忘れるんですよね。 (Mā, demo kasa wa yoku wasureru n desu yo ne.)
Naomi: 忘れますね。 (Wasuremasu ne.)
Natsuko: 電車の中とかによく忘れますね。 (Densha no naka toka ni yoku wasuremasu ne.)
Peter: Umm next we have.
Natsuko: 届く (todoku)
Peter: To reach.
Natsuko: と・ど・く「届く」 (to do ku `todoku')
Peter: Followed by
Natsuko: 財布 (saifu)
Peter: Wallet.
Natsuko: さ・い・ふ・「財布」 (sa i fu`saifu')
Peter: Now, can you translate this as purse too?
Natsuko: Yes I think so.
Peter: So unisex?
Natsuko: Yes, sure.
Peter: But when we say “purse” in English, it kind of has a clip at the top that you push open and is that also 財布 (saifu).
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: I was so used to it being just the wallet.
Natsuko: Oh no it means something you put your money in and carry with you. Well, what a definition!
Peter: But it’s a – it can’t be made of something hard, right? It has that connotation of soft.
Natsuko: Yeah because you use the kanji 布 that means in a cloth, right?
Peter: Yeah.
Natsuko: So usually it’s made of something soft, right?
Peter: Cloth, leather, or some kind of synthetic material.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Next we have
Naomi: 受付 (uketsuke)
Peter: Reception.
Naomi: う・け・つ・け「受付」 (u ketsu ke `uketsuke')
Peter: Finally we have
Natsuko: 入り口 (iriguchi)
Peter: Entrance.
Natsuko: い・り・ぐ・ち「入り口」 (iri gu chi `iriguchi')
Peter: Okay. So let’s take a look at this conversation. We start off with

Lesson focus

Natsuko: すみません。 (Sumimasen.)
Peter: Excuse me
Natsuko: 忘れ物は届いていませんか? (Wasuremono wa todoite imasen ka?)
Peter: “Have any lost items been brought in.” That’s the translation but let’s take a look at what’s going on in the sentence. First we have
Natsuko: 忘れ物 (wasuremono)
Peter: Lost item, lost property.
Natsuko: は (wa)
Peter: Marked by the topic marking particle. So lost item, you kind of want to pause there and this is followed by
Natsuko: 届いていませんか? (Todoite imasen ka?)
Peter: Is it not arriving, is the literal translation. Kind of like hasn’t it arrived yet but here we have actually the negative progressive form of the verb. So it’s in a state of arriving. So has it not arrived yet. So literally we have lost property, hasn’t it arrived yet but again we translate this as, have any lost items been brought in. Interesting way of expressing this 届いています (Todoite imasu).
Natsuko: You are right.
Peter: If you get something, if something arrives for you, for example Natsuko-san, if a letter arrives for me and I come to the office
Natsuko: ピーターさんに手紙が届いています。 (Pītā-san ni tegami ga todoite imasu.)
Peter: Yeah. There is a letter arriving for me.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: So here we use it but it’s in a state of being there, arriving there.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: So you just have to keep in mind with this 届いています (todoite imasu).
Natsuko: So this 届いていませんか (todoite imasen ka) kind of asking something expressing your expectation you know you are waiting for it to come. So it’s like you know, you are expecting something brought in but has not….
Peter: But you use the negative here because you are not sure if it has.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: So you are expecting it but you are not sure if it has. So if I am waiting for a letter from the States, every day I come into the office 手紙は届いていませんか? (Tegami wa todoite imasen ka?) “Hasn’t it arrived yet?”
Natsuko: So you know it will come, right?
Peter: Yes huh, so yeah this is – but we want to explain this concept of 届く (todoku) and why we are using the progressive here.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Okay. This is followed by
Natsuko: 何を忘れたんですか? (Nani o wasureta n desu ka?)
Peter: “What did you lose?” Now in a textbook, you most likely would come across 何を忘れましたか? (Nani o wasuremashita ka?) What we have here is just as polite, it is just presented in a different way.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: We use the casual form followed by
Natsuko: ~んですか? (~ n desu ka?)
Peter: Which basically is only there for politeness.
Natsuko: Yes, right.
Peter: It’s not acting as the verb “to be” as we sometimes go over.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: The verb here is 忘れる (wasureru). Here, it’s acting to increase the politeness level.
Natsuko: Right.
Peter: So I was talking to Natsuko as a friend え (e)? 何を忘れた? (Nani o wasureta?) Like “what did you forget?” but to increase that politeness level
Natsuko: 何を忘れたんですか? (Nani o wasureta n desu ka?)
Peter: Then we have
Naomi: 自習室に財布を忘れてしまったんです。 (Jishū-shitsu ni saifu o wasurete shimatta n desu.)
Peter: “I forgot my wallet in the study room.” And again, at the end of this sentence, we also have
Naomi: ~んです (~ n desu)
Peter: Which again here is increasing the politeness level because the speaker is speaking with the staff who is not in that inner circle. So we have to increase that politeness level. This is followed by
Natsuko: 何時くらいですか? (Nanji kurai desu ka?)
Peter: “Around what time?” followed by
Naomi: 2時過ぎだとおもいます。 (ni-ji sugi da to omoimasu.)
Peter: “A little past 2 I think.” Now again, the subject here is out because the subject is a speaker.
Natsuko: Not only the subject but the object is also missing here, right but it perfectly makes sense in Japanese.
Peter: It’s a great ploy. The subject and the object. Literally we have “a little past 2 I think” which makes sense because the subject and object are already established. One point I want to make here is, Naomi-sensei, what do we have? Can you just start reading it back for us? What do we have first?
Naomi: 2時過ぎ。 (ni-ji sugi.)
Peter: 過ぎ (sugi) is from the verb 過ぎる (sugiru) which is “to pass.”
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: So “to pass” but here it’s acting as a noun and when we have a noun, before と思う (to omou) we need to put だ (da) in there. So that’s why it’s 2時過ぎだと思います (ni-ji sugi da to omoimasu). This phrase 2時過ぎ (2-ji sugi) is a noun phrase. So it’s followed by だ (da). Then we have the particle と (to) and finally 思います (omoimasu) the polite form of 思う (omou) “to think.” Okay next we have the most interesting phrase
Natsuko: 届いているとしたら、受付にあると思うので、入り口の受付で聞いてもらえますか? (Todoite iru to shitara, uketsuke ni aru to omou node, iriguchi no uketsuke de kiite moraemasu ka?)
Peter: “If it was brought here, it would be at the reception desk. So you can ask at the reception desk” and that’s what it’s translated as but we are going to take a look at these components real quick and show you the components behind how we get to this. First we have
Natsuko: 届いているとしたら (todoite iru to shitara)
Peter: Literally “arriving if it is.” Again it is inferred here.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Natsuko-san, what’s the subject?
Natsuko: 財布 (saifu)
Peter: The wallet. So “the wallet arriving if it is” is literally what we have but “if it arrived, if it has arrived.” Remember if it’s in the state of arriving, sometimes that progressive, that present progressive can be used to represent a state if it’s in the state of arriving. So in English if it’s arrived. Also this としたら (to shitara) this is the particle と (to) followed by
Natsuko: したら (shitara)
Peter: Which is a conditional form from the verb する (suru).
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Now, here we use this – this structure is used when the speaker makes an assumption and usually we have the subordinate clause followed by としたら (to shitara) followed by the main clause meaning if the subordinate clause is assumed, then we have the main clause.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: So in this case, if it’s arrived, it would be at the reception desk which is
Natsuko: 受付にあると思うので (Uketsuke ni aru to omou node)
Peter: Reception desk at there is I think. And this is interpreted as, it would be at their reception desk or I think it would be there at the reception desk. Then we have finally ので (node) conjunction because
Natsuko: 入り口の受付で聞いてもらえますか? (Iriguchi no uketsuke de kiite moraemasu ka?)
Peter: “Can you ask at the reception desk” is the translation but literally we have, first Natsuko-san.
Natsuko: 入り口の (iriguchi no)
Peter: “Entrance, entrances.” Possessive there. “Entrance” followed by no which is the possessive, “entrance.”
Natsuko: 受付 (uketsuke)
Peter: “Reception.” So “the reception at the entrance”
Natsuko: で (de)
Peter: This is where the action will take place.
Natsuko: 聞いてもらえますか? (Kiite moraemasu ka?)
Peter: Literally, “can I have you ask.”
Natsuko: You are right.
Peter: So it’s a very – again we go over this theme all the time that you want to be extremely polite. So we are actually – rather than saying, “can you ask there, can you ask for me there.” So “can you ask me at the entrance’s reception desk” or “can you ask for me at the reception desk at the entrance.” Very polite.
Natsuko: Polite, yes interesting.

Outro

Peter: All right, that’s going to do it for today.
Natsuko: それじゃ、またね! (Sore ja, mata ne!)

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