Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Intro

Jessi: Hi everyone, ジェシーです (Jeshī desu)。 Jessi here!
Tomoyuki: こんにちは (Kon'nichiwa)、Tomoyukiです (desu)。
Jessi: Best Wishes for the Japanese New Year. Thanks as always for joining us! Tomoyuki, could you remind us what we learned in the last lesson, Lesson 1?
Tomoyuki : Sure! In the last lesson, we reviewed numbers, and the phrase あけましておめでとうございます (akemashite omedetō gozaimasu).
Jessi: Which means "Happy New Year!" And in this lesson, you'll review Japanese greetings, and how to address people using name suffixes.
Tomoyuki : Yes, such as さん (san), ちゃん (chan), くん (kun), and so on. What's happening in this conversation?
Jessi: In the conversation, Chiemi and Taylor, who are in the US, are talking to Chiemi's father, who is in Japan, on the phone.
Tomoyuki : The conversation takes place shortly after New Years.
Jessi: That's right. And with that, let's listen to the conversation.
Dialogue
(On the phone)
ちえみ:おとうさん?あけまして おめでとう。
Chiemi: O-tō-san? Akemashite omedetō.
テイラー:おとうさん、あけまして おめでとう ございます。ことし も よろしくおねがいします。
Taylor: O-tō-san, akemashite omedetō gozaimasu. Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
ちえみのおとうさん:テイラーくん、ことし も よろしく。
Chiemi’s Father: Teirā-kun, kotoshi mo yoroshiku.
サラ:(googoo gaagaa)
Sara: (googoo gaagaa)
ちえみのおとうさん:ああ!サラちゃん!
Chiemi’s Father: Aa! Sara-chan!
Jessi: Let’s listen to the conversation again slowly.
(On the phone)
ちえみ:おとうさん?あけまして おめでとう。
Chiemi: O-tō-san? Akemashite omedetō.
テイラー:おとうさん、あけまして おめでとう ございます。ことし も よろしくおねがいします。
Taylor: O-tō-san, akemashite omedetō gozaimasu. Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
ちえみのおとうさん:テイラーくん、ことし も よろしく。
Chiemi’s Father: Teirā-kun, kotoshi mo yoroshiku.
サラ:(googoo gaagaa)
Sara: (googoo gaagaa)
ちえみのおとうさん:ああ!サラちゃん!
Chiemi’s Father: Aa! Sara-chan!
Jessi: Now, let’s listen to it with the translation.
(On the phone)
ちえみ:おとうさん?あけまして おめでとう。
Chiemi: O-tō-san? Akemashite omedetō.
Jessi: Dad? Happy new year.
テイラー:おとうさん、あけまして おめでとう ございます。
Taylor: O-tō-san, akemashite omedetō gozaimasu.
Jessi: Happy new year, Father.
テイラー: ことし も よろしくおねがいします。
Taylor: Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Jessi: Please look favorably upon me this year too.
ちえみのおとうさん:テイラーくん、ことし も よろしく。
Chiemi’s Father: Teirā-kun, kotoshi mo yoroshiku.
Jessi: Look favorably on me this year too, Taylor.
サラ:(googoo gaagaa)
Sara: (googoo gaagaa)
ちえみのおとうさん:ああ!サラちゃん!
Chiemi’s Father: Aa! Sara-chan!
Jessi: Ahh! Sara!
Vocabulary and Phrase Usage
Jessi: So, Taylor, Chiemi, and their baby daughter Sara are talking to Chiemi's father on the phone.
Tomoyuki: Yes, we can tell that it has just become a new year, because they say あけましておめでとうございます (akemashite omedetō gozaimasu)!
Jessi: Yes! This is the phrase we learned in the last lesson, which means Happy New Year!
Tomoyuki: そうです! (Sō desu!) That's right.
Jessi: Here's something interesting though - did you notice that what Chiemi and Taylor said was different? They both said Happy New Year, but in different ways.
Tomoyuki: Yes, Chiemi said it informally, あけましておめでとう (akemashite omedetō), and Taylor said it formally, あけましておめでとうございます (akemashite omedetō gozaimasu).
Jessi: Yes! Remember that Japanese have different politeness levels. That means that there are informal and formal ways of speaking. Let's review that really quickly - who is informal speech used with?
Tomoyuki: Informal speech is used with friends, family, and those younger than you.
Jessi: How about formal speech?
Tomoyuki: Formal speech is used with strangers, those older than you, and those you need to show respect towards or aren't close to.
Jessi: Yup! So, in the case of the dialogue, Chiemi is using informal Japanese to her father because they are an immediate family.
Tomoyuki: あけましておめでとう。 (Akemashite omedetō.)
Jessi: Right. And Taylor uses formal Japanese to Chiemi's father to show respect.
Tomoyuki: あけましておめでとうございます。 (Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu.)
Jessi: Okay, now, let's go over the phrase that Taylor said after saying あけましておめでとうございます(akemashite omedetō gozaimasu). Tomoyuki, what was it?
Tomoyuki: 今年もよろしくおねがいします。 (Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)
Jessi: 今年もよろしくおねがいします。 (Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) Listeners, does any part of this sound familiar? It should; we covered よろしくおねがいします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu) in Season 1.
Tomoyuki: If you remember, it literally means, "please look favorably upon me".
Jessi: That's right. It's used a lot when introducing yourself to someone. In this case, though, we have the phrase 今年(ことし)も (kotoshi mo), if front of it. So let's explain what this is.
Tomoyuki: Sure. 今年(ことし) (Kotoshi) means "this year", and も (mo) means "also" or "too".
Jessi: So you say it to someone you know, and it means something like... I look forward to maintaining a good relationship with you this year too.
Tomoyuki: Right. Do you have a similar phrase in English, Jessi?
Jessi: Mmm, well actually in English, there’s no exact translation. There’s no phrase that is really similar. But I think "I look forward to maintaining a good relationship" sums up the meaning pretty well.
Tomoyuki: It's very common to say after Happy New Year, あけましておめでとうございます (akemashite omedetō gozaimasu).
Jessi: So then, how does that sound when you say those two together?
Tomoyuki: あけましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願いします。 (Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu. Kotoshi mo yoroshiku o-negai shimasu.)
Jessi: Okay listeners, please repeat after Tomoyuki. One phrase at a time.
Tomoyuki: あけましておめでとうございます. (Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu.)
[pause for 5 sec]
Tomoyuki: 今年もよろしくお願いします。 (Kotoshi mo yoroshiku o-negai shimasu.)
[pause for 5 sec]
Jessi: Okay, sounds good! Let's move onto the lesson focus.
Grammar Point
Jessi: In this lesson, you'll learn about name suffixes in Japanese. They're words that are attached to names.
Tomoyuki: In the last series, we reviewed a common one - さん (san).
Jessi: さん (san). This is a name suffix used to show respect. It's similar to using Mr., Ms., or Mrs. in English. Unless you are talking to family or very close friends, you should always attach さん (san) after people's names.
Tomoyuki: Yes, it is better to be on the safe side.
Jessi: I agree! Let's give some example of how we use さん (san). If I were to address Tomoyuki directly, I would say, ともゆきさん (Tomo Yuki-san). Tomoyuki, his name, plus さん (san).
Tomoyuki: Right, and I can also say ジェシーさん (Jeshī-san). The name ジェシー (Jeshī), plus さん (san).
Jessi: It can come after first names OR last names.
Tomoyuki: That's right.
Jessi: So when you are speaking to someone in Japanese, it is a good idea to attach さん (san) to their name.
Tomoyuki: Definitely.
Jessi: Okay, and さん (san) is not the only name suffix we use in Japanese.
Tomoyuki: Japanese has so many different name suffixes!
Jessi: Yes, and you'll hear them ALL the time! I assure you that if you watch Japanese dramas, movies, or anime, you will hear these name suffixes.
Tomoyuki: We heard two new ones in the dialogue.
Jessi: Yes. The first one is...?
Tomoyuki: くん (kun)
Jessi: In the dialogue, Chiemi's father said
Tomoyuki: テイラーくん、ことし も よろしく。 (Teirā-kun, kotoshi mo yoroshiku.)
Jessi: He addressed Taylor as テイラーくん (Teirā-kun). The name テイラー (Teirā) plus the suffix くん (kun).
Tomoyuki: This くん (kun) is mostly used towards boys and young men.
Jessi: Right, usually towards people who are younger or about the same age as the speaker, and it's quite informal.
Tomoyuki: Chiemi's father can use it with Taylor because he is younger than him.
Jessi: Yes. Please note that you can never use it with your superiors.
Tomoyuki: That's right.
Jessi: Let's practice it! Listeners, repeat after Tomoyuki.
Tomoyuki: テイラーくん (Teirā-kun)
[pause for 3 sec]
Jessi: Okay! Let's go to the next one we saw. The next one is...?
Tomoyuki: ちゃん (chan)
Jessi: In the dialogue, Chiemi's father heard Sara’s voice and said
Tomoyuki: ああ!サラちゃん! (Ā! Sara-chan!)
Jessi: サラちゃん。 (Sara-chan.) He addressed Sara, Taylor and Chiemi's baby daughter, as サラちゃん (Sara-chan). The name サラ (Sara) plus the suffix ちゃん (chan).
Tomoyuki: This ちゃん (chan) is mostly used after the names of girls and young children.
Jessi: Right, and it's a suffix used to show affection. Okay, let's practice it! Listeners, repeat after Tomoyuki.
Tomoyuki: サラちゃん (Sara-chan)
[pause for 3 sec]
Jessi: All right, so to recap, what suffixes did we cover?
Tomoyuki: さん (san)
Jessi: A formal name suffix used to show respect
Tomoyuki: くん (kun)
Jessi: an informal name suffix used mostly towards boys and young men
Tomoyuki: ちゃん (chan)
Jessi: an informal name suffix used mostly towards girls and young children
Tomoyuki: These name suffixes are very common, so please remember them!
Jessi: That's right! They're a big part of everyday Japanese, and we'll be hearing them a lot throughout this series.

Outro

Jessi: Okay, well I think that's going to do it for this lesson!
Tomoyuki: Thanks for listening, everyone.
Jessi: Yes, thanks as always, and we'll see you next time.
Tomoyuki: じゃまた! (Ja mata!)

Grammar

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