Learn how to ask questions
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| Introduction |
| Jessi: Asking a Japanese Question. ใธใงใทใผใงใใ(Jeshii desu.) Jessi here. |
| Naomi: ใใใซใกใฏ๏ผใชใใฟใงใใ(Kon'nichi wa! Naomi desu.) Naomi here! |
| Jessi: Thanks for joining us again! Naomi, could you tell us what we learned in the last lesson? |
| Naomi: Sure! In the last lesson, we reviewed our first sentence pattern, AใฏBใงใ (A wa B desu). |
| Jessi: Which means "A is B". |
| Naomi: And in this lesson...? |
| Jessi: You'll learn how to ask questions. You'll be surprised at how easy it is! We'll be using the first sentence pattern we learned as well. Okay, so what's happening in the conversation in this lesson? |
| Naomi: Well, Taylor, Masato, and Kaori are still at the airport. |
| Jessi: If you remember last time, Kaori gave Taylor a gift they brought with them from Japan, ใใฟใใ (omiyage). |
| Naomi: Right. |
| Jessi: Now, he's asking her about it in this conversation. Let's listen in! |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| ใใคใฉใผ:ใใใฏโฆใใใใงใใใ(Kore wa... o-kashi desu ka.) |
| ใพใใจ:ใฏใใใใใงใใๆฅๆฌใฎใใใใงใใ(Hai, sล desu. Nihon no o-kashi desu.) |
| ใใใ:ใใใงใใใใใใใงใใ(Sล desu. Yลkan desu.) |
| ใใคใฉใผ:ใใปใใปใใปใ๏ผ(Yo, u, ka, n?) |
| English Host: Let's listen to the conversation again slowly. |
| ใใคใฉใผ:ใใใฏโฆใใใใงใใใ(Kore wa... o-kashi desu ka.) |
| ใพใใจ:ใฏใใใใใงใใๆฅๆฌใฎใใใใงใใ(Hai, sล desu. Nihon no o-kashi desu.) |
| ใใใ:ใใใงใใใใใใใงใใ(Sล desu. Yลkan desu.) |
| ใใคใฉใผ:ใใปใใปใใปใ๏ผ(Yo, u, ka, n?) |
| English Host: Now letโs to it with the translation. |
| ใใคใฉใผ:ใใใฏโฆใใใใงใใใ(Kore wa... o-kashi desu ka.) |
| Jessi: Are these sweets? |
| ใพใใจ:ใฏใใใใใงใใๆฅๆฌใฎใใใใงใใ(Hai, sล desu. Nihon no o-kashi desu.) |
| Jessi: Yes, that's right. They're Japanese sweets. |
| ใใใ:ใใใงใใใใใใใงใใ(Sล desu. Yลkan desu.) |
| Jessi: Right. They're "yokan." |
| ใใคใฉใผ:ใใปใใปใใปใ๏ผ(Yo, u, ka, n?) |
| Jessi: Yo-ka-n? |
| Post conversation banter |
| Jessi: So Taylor's gift from Masato and Kaori was some Japanese sweets! |
| Naomi: Yes, sweets known as ใใใใ (yลkan). |
| Jessi: ใใใใ (yลkan). How would you describe it? |
| Naomi: Well, ใใใใ (yลkan) is sweet-jellied red bean paste. |
| Jessi: It might be hard for the listeners to picture. |
| Naomi: I think so! It's usually sold in block form. |
| Jessi: Right. So it's often served and eaten in slices. It's very good! I like it personally. By the way, what's the word for sweets or snacks? |
| Naomi: Good question. That's our first vocabulary word, ใใใ (o-kashi). |
| Jessi: ใใใ (o-kashi). One more time slowly, and again at regular speed? |
| Naomi: [Slowly] ใใใ (o-kashi) [regular] ใใใ (o-kashi) |
| Jessi: And this is a general word for sweets or snacks. And the next phrase is? |
| Naomi: ๆฅๆฌใฎ (Nihon no) |
| Jessi: ๆฅๆฌใฎ (Nihon no), and this means "Japanese." |
| Naomi: You can actually learn two words in one. |
| Jessi: Yes! Can you tell us the word for Japan? |
| Naomi: ๆฅๆฌ (Nihon) |
| Jessi: ๆฅๆฌ (Nihon). and the word for Japanese is? |
| Naomi: ๆฅๆฌใฎ (Nihon no) |
| Jessi: This is just ๆฅๆฌ (Nihon) with ใฎ (o) at the end. ๆฅๆฌใฎ (Nihon no). So if we combine this with the other word we just learned, we get... |
| Naomi: ๆฅๆฌใฎ ใใใ (Nihon no o-kashi) |
| Jessi: Japanese sweets! |
| Naomi: That's the phrase we saw in the dialogue. |
| Jessi: So please remember that "Japan" isโฆ |
| Naomi: ๆฅๆฌ (Nihon) |
| Jessi: And "Japanese" as in "Japanese sweets" isโฆ |
| Naomi: ๆฅๆฌใฎ (Nihon no) |
| Jessi: Great. And the last phrase we saw? |
| Naomi: ใใใงใ (Sล desu) |
| Jessi: ใใใงใ๏ผ (Sล desu!) And this means... |
| Naomi: "Yes" or "That's right" or "You're right." |
| Jessi: So when Taylor asked, "Are these sweets?" Kaori saidโฆ |
| Naomi: ใใใงใใ(Sล desu.) |
| Jessi: Yes, that's right. |
| Naomi: ๆฅๆฌใฎใใใใงใใ(Nihon no o-kashi desu.) |
| Jessi: They're Japanese sweets. |
| Jessi: In this lesson, you'll learn how to make a question. |
| Naomi: Which is very easy. |
| Jessi: Yes. You'll be surprised! But before we move on, we need to go back to Lesson 7. |
| Naomi: In Lesson 7, you learned how to make a [A is B] sentence. AใฏBใงใ (A wa B desu). |
| Jessi: That's right. For example? |
| Naomi: ใใใฏ ๆฐดใงใใ(Kore wa mizu desu.) |
| Jessi: ใใ is this, and ๆฐด is water, so altogether this means "This is water." |
| Naomi: ใใใฏๆฐดใงใใ(Kore wa mizu desu.) |
| Jessi: So this is just a regular statement. You're just stating a fact, right? |
| Naomi: Right. |
| Jessi: Now, what if we want to ask a question? Say you have a glass of clear liquid in front of you, and you want to know, "Is this water?" For all you know, it could be Seven-Up, or something else. |
| Naomi: Well, to turn a statement into a question, add ใ (ka) to the end. |
| Jessi: Just one sound - ใ (ka). Let's try it. So the sentenceโฆ |
| Naomi: ใใใฏ ๆฐดใงใใ(Kore wa mizu desu.) |
| Jessi: Becomes...? |
| Naomi: ใใใฏ ๆฐดใงใใใ(Kore wa mizu desu ka.) |
| Jessi: ใใใฏ ๆฐดใงใใใ(Kore wa mizu desu ka.) "Is this water?" Repeat after Naomi. |
| Naomi: ใใใฏ ๆฐดใงใใใ(Kore wa mizu desu ka.) |
| [pause] |
| Jessi: Great! Now, just awhile ago we learned the word ใใใ (o-kashi). |
| Naomi: Meaning "sweets." |
| Jessi: Yes. So sitting in front of you is a plate of something that looks like cookies. If you know they are sweets, you can say... |
| Naomi: ใใใฏใใใใงใใ(Kore wa o-kashi desu.) |
| Jessi: But say for example, if you don't know what they are, and want to ask if they are sweets, you can say...? |
| Naomi: ใใใฏใใใใงใใใ(Kore wa o-kashi desu ka.) |
| Jessi: "Are these sweets?" Repeat after Naomi. |
| Naomi: ใใใฏใใใใงใใใ(Kore wa o-kashi desu ka.) |
| [pause] |
| Naomi: That's exactly what Taylor asked in the dialogue. |
| Jessi: Oh, right ~ ใใใฏใใใใงใใ๏ผ(Kore wa o-kashi desu ka?) |
| Naomi: Right. Okay, let's have the listeners try it now. |
| Jessi: Okay! Sounds good. Here's the situation. Let's say your Japanese host puts a dish down in front of you. It looks like fish, but you're not quite sure, how could you ask? |
| Naomi: Here are some hints for you, "fish" is ้ญ (sakana). |
| Jessi: So? |
| Naomi: "This is fish" would be ใใใฏใใใชใงใใ(Kore wa sakana desu.) |
| Jessi: Okay. So please ask, "Is this fish?" |
| [pause] |
| Jessi: Okay. Naomi, in this situation, what should we say? |
| Naomi: ใใใฏใใใชใงใใ๏ผ(Kore wa sakana desu ka?) |
| Jessi: Remember, all you need to do is add ใ (ka) to a statement to make it a question. |
| Naomi: That's it! |
| Jessi: Not so bad, was it? |
| Naomi: Thanks for listening, everyone! |
| Jessi: See you all next time. |
| Naomi: ใใใพใใ(Ja mata.) |
Lesson conversation |
| ใใคใฉใผ:ใใใฏโฆใใใใงใใใ(Kore wa... o-kashi desu ka.) |
| ใพใใจ:ใฏใใใใใงใใๆฅๆฌใฎใใใใงใใ(Hai, sล desu. Nihon no o-kashi desu.) |
| ใใใ:ใใใงใใใใใใใงใใ(Sล desu. Yลkan desu.) |
| ใใคใฉใผ:ใใปใใปใใปใ๏ผ(Yo, u, ka, n?) |
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