Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Introduction
John: Talking About Your Age. In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask someone’s age and say yours in Japanese.
Body
John: Here's the formal way to ask "How old are you?" in Japanese.
Risa: [Normal] 何歳ですか。(Nan-sai desu ka.)
John: First is a word meaning "how old."
Risa: [Normal] 何歳 [Slow] 何歳 (nan-sai)
John: Next is the word meaning "are."
Risa: [Normal] です [Slow] です(desu)
John: Last is the question particle.
Risa: [Normal] か [Slow] か(ka)
John: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the formal question meaning "How old are you?"
Risa: [Slow] 何歳ですか。 [Normal] 何歳ですか。
John: Now, imagine you’re speaking to your friend. Here's an informal way to ask, "How old are you?"
Risa: [Normal] 何歳? (Nan-sai?)
John: This expression has only one phrase meaning “how old.”
Risa: [Normal] 何歳 [Slow] 何歳 (nan-sai)
John: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the informal question meaning "How old are you?"
Risa: [Slow] 何歳? [Normal] 何歳?
John: Here's a response meaning "I am 17."
Risa: [Normal] 17歳です。(Jū nana-sai desu.)
John: First is a word meaning "seventeen."
Risa: [Normal] 17(じゅうなな) [Slow] 17(じゅ・う・な・な)(jū nana)
John: Next is the word meaning "years old."
Risa: [Normal] 歳 [Slow] 歳(sai)
John: Last is the word meaning "am."
Risa: [Normal] です [Slow] です(desu)
John: Listen again to the response, "I am 17."
Risa: [Slow] 17歳です。 [Normal] 17歳です。
John: Here's a response meaning "It's a secret."
Risa: [Normal]秘密です。( Himitsu desu.)
John: First is a word meaning "secret."
Risa: [Normal] 秘密 [Slow] 秘密 (himitsu)
John: Next is the word meaning "is."
Risa: [Normal] です [Slow] です (desu)
John: You can use this sentence when you don't want to disclose your age! Listen again to the response - "It's a secret."
Risa: [Slow] 秘密です。 [Normal] 秘密です。
Cultural Insight
John: Now, it's time for a quick cultural insight.
Risa: In Japan, sometimes it's important to know the age of your friends or co-workers. Usually, you should talk in a formal way when speaking to your seniors and superiors. However, be sure not to ask about age at first, especially to women!

Outro

John: And that's all for this lesson. Don't forget to check out the lesson notes, and we'll see you in the next lesson!
Risa: またね!(mata ne!)

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