Learn about expressing volition on the part of the first person or to invite someone to do something
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Natsuko: おはよう、西安。ナツコです。(Ohayō, Seian. Natsuko desu.) |
| Yoshi: おはよう、西安。よしです。(Ohayō, Seian. Yoshi desu.) |
| Peter: Peter here. Beginner lesson #122. Natsuko-san, we are back with day 2 of riding the elevators. |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. I remember that one. |
| Peter: And today it’s getting off. Now this is pretty unique what we are doing here. At least I think so. Today we are going to get a look inside the woman's mind. You remember her from yesterday, right? |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. I wanted to find out what she was thinking. |
| Peter: We are about to do that plus today we are covering a crucial grammar point and this grammar point is the informal volitional. Now just to go over the volitional one more time, Natsuko-san, how would we say let’s eat. |
| Natsuko: 食べましょう (tabemashō) |
| Peter: Today we will be going over the informal form of です (desu). |
| Natsuko: Oh, I see. |
| Peter: Very important stuff. With that said, today’s conversation will resemble yesterday’s conversation but there are a few key differences here. Okay, without further adieu, here we go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : 待って！そのエレベーター、ちょっと待ってください！(Matte! Sono erebētā, chotto matte kudasai!) |
| ＜足音＞ ありがとうございます！！(Arigatō gozaimasu!!) |
| よし (Yoshi) : 何階ですか。(Nan-kai desu ka.) |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : ４７階お願いします。ああ、どうもすみません。今日は涼しいですね。(Yon-jū nana-kai onegai shimasu. Ā, dōmo sumimasen. Kyō wa suzushii desu ne.) |
| よし (Yoshi) : あ、はい、そうですね。。。(A, hai, sō desu ne…) |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : ＜自分に対して＞ この人どこかおかしいわ。こいつ何考えてるの？なんかちょっと怖い。いや、怖い！やー、こっち見てる。(Kono hito dokoka okashii wa. Koitsu nani kangate ru no? Nanka chotto kowai. Iya, kowai! Yā, kotchi mite ru.) |
| よし (Yoshi) : あ、あの。。。(A, ano…) |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : ＜自分に対して＞ 逃げよう！(Nigeyō!) |
| ＜男の人に対して＞ すみません。間違えました。２５階お願いします。(Sumimasen. Machigaemashita. Ni-jū go-kai onegai shimasu.) |
| ＜自分に対して＞ 早く降りたい。(Hayaku oritai.) |
| Natsuko: 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.) |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : 待って！そのエレベーター、ちょっと待ってください！(Matte! Sono erebētā, chotto matte kudasai!) |
| ありがとうございます！！(Arigatō gozaimasu!!) |
| よし (Yoshi) : 何階ですか。(Nan-kai desu ka.) |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : ４７階お願いします。ああ、どうもすみません。今日は涼しいですね。(Yon-jū nana-kai onegai shimasu. Ā, dōmo sumimasen. Kyō wa suzushii desu ne.) |
| よし (Yoshi) : あ、はい、そうですね。。。(A, hai, sō desu ne…) |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : この人どこかおかしいわ。こいつ何考えてるの？なんかちょっと怖い。いや、怖い！やー、こっち見てる。(Kono hito dokoka okashii wa. Koitsu nani kangate ru no? Nanka chotto kowai. Iya, kowai! Yā, kotchi mite ru.) |
| よし (Yoshi) : あ、あの。。。(A, ano…) |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : 逃げよう！(Nigeyō!) |
| すみません。間違えました。２５階お願いします。(Sumimasen. Machigaemashita. Ni-jū go-kai onegai shimasu.) |
| 早く降りたい。(Hayaku oritai.) |
| 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.) |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : 待って！そのエレベーター、ちょっと待ってください！(Matte! Sono erebētā, chotto matte kudasai!) |
| NATSUKO: Wait! Hold that elevator! |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : ＜足音＞ ありがとうございます！！(Arigatō gozaimasu!!) |
| NATSUKO: ＜Footsteps＞ Thank you!! |
| よし (Yoshi) : 何階ですか？(Nan-kai desu ka.) |
| YOSHI: What floor? |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : ４７階お願いします。(Yon-jū nana-kai onegai shimasu.) |
| NATSUKO: 47, please. |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : ああ、どうもすみません。今日は涼しいですね。 (Ā, dōmo sumimasen. Kyō wa suzushii desu ne.) |
| NATSUKO: Ahh, thank you. It's cool today, isn't it? |
| よし (Yoshi) : あ、はい、そうですね。。。(A, hai, sō desu ne…) |
| YOSHI: Yeah, that's right… |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : ＜自分に対して＞ この人どこかおかしいわ。(Kono hito dokoka okashii wa.) |
| NATSUKO: ＜To herself＞ There's something strange about this person. |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : こいつ何考えてるの？(Koitsu nani kangate ru no?) |
| NATSUKO: What's this guy thinking? |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : なんかちょっと怖い。(Nanka chotto kowai.) |
| NATSUKO: I'm a little scared. |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : いや、怖い！やー、こっち見てる。(Iya, kowai! Yā, kotchi mite ru.) |
| NATSUKO: Uh, I'm scared! Uh oh, he's looking this way. |
| よし: あ、あの。。。(A, ano…) |
| YOSHI: Umm… |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : ＜自分に対して＞ 逃げよう！(Nigeyō!) |
| NATSUKO: ＜To herself＞ Let's get out of here! |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : ＜男の人に対して＞ すみません。間違えました。２５階お願いします。(Sumimasen. Machigaemashita. Ni-jū go-kai onegai shimasu.) |
| NATSUKO: ＜To the man＞ Excuse me. I made a mistake. Floor 25, please. |
| 夏子 (Natsuko) : ＜自分に対して＞ 早く降りたい。(Hayaku oritai.) |
| NATSUKO: ＜To herself＞ I wanna get out of here quick! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Peter: Natsuko-san, let’s ask Yoshi-san on what he thought of today’s conversation. Finally he finds out what she is thinking. |
| Natsuko: よしさん、今日の会話どう思いましたか。(Yoshi-san, kyō no kaiwa dō omoimashita ka.) |
| Peter: Why are you laughing, Yoshi-san? |
| Yoshi: Umm… yeah. 残酷ですね。(Zankoku desu ne.) |
| Peter: English, please. |
| Yoshi: 知りたいようで知りたくない。(Shiritai yō de shiritakunai.) It was very cruel. |
| Peter: 残酷 (zankoku), cruel. |
| Yoshi: はい。(Hai.) Cruel. Not cool… |
| Peter: Cool? |
| Yoshi: Cool. It’s kind of cool. |
| Peter: Cruel. |
| Yoshi: It’s kind of cool but cruel. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Yoshi: You know and I would like to know what they are thinking but also maybe I shouldn’t. |
| Peter: Something you want to know but you don’t think you’d be better off knowing it, kind of thing. |
| Yoshi: Right. |
| Peter: How did you say that in Japanese again? |
| Yoshi: 知りたいけど知りたくない。(Shiritai kedo shiritakunai.) |
| Peter: I want to know but I don’t want to know. Part of me that wants to know but I don’t want to know. All right, with that said, let’s get into today’s vocabulary ah but maybe first let’s ask Natsuko-san, what did you think of today’s conversation. Is it understandable? |
| Natsuko: Yes. Now I know, now it made sense. Oh, poor guy. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Peter: All right. So let’s get into the vocabulary. Yoshi-san, |
| Yoshi: どこか (dokoka) |
| Peter: Somewhere. |
| Yoshi: (slow) どこか (dokoka) (natural speed) どこか (dokoka) |
| Peter: Next we have |
| Natsuko: おかしい (okashii) |
| Peter: Strange. |
| Natsuko: (slow) おかしい (okashii) (natural speed) おかしい (okashii) |
| Peter: Sample sentence, please. |
| Natsuko: 車の調子がおかしい。(Kuruma no chōshi ga okashii.) |
| Peter: The car’s condition is weird. So it sounds like you are headed to a mechanic. Next we have |
| Yoshi: こいつ (koitsu) |
| Peter: This guy. |
| Yoshi: (slow) こいつ (koitsu) (natural speed) こいつ (koitsu) |
| Peter: Natsuko-san, is this a flattering way to refer to someone? |
| Natsuko: No. |
| Peter: Not at all. We’d like to warn you that this is some really strong language. A very strong way to refer to somebody. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: And it’s usually when something unfavorable happens to you that makes you want to refer to somebody in this way. |
| Natsuko: Yes. So it can be kind of insulting. |
| Peter: Yeah. Now we have こいつ (koitsu) for this person. What about that person? |
| Natsuko: そいつ (soitsu) |
| Peter: And that person way over there? |
| Natsuko: あいつ (aitsu) |
| Peter: Again with demonstratives in Japanese, the first syllable is the same and you can even make this plural by adding |
| Natsuko: ら (ra) |
| Peter: So these guys. |
| Natsuko: こいつら (koitsu-ra) |
| Peter: Yeah, again we teach you these words not to use them but to be aware of them. |
| Natsuko: Because it’s not always very harsh but it also shows how intimate the relations are in casual situations. |
| Peter: Exactly. If you are among friends, sometimes your friend as a sign of intimacy will refer to you this way but until you get to that stage and until it’s understood, saying this with the hopes that it would be a joke could really rub someone the wrong way. So that’s why better to let them make the first move. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Peter: Yoshi-san seems to disagree. |
| Yoshi: もう、ピーターったら、こいつー。(Mō, Pītā ttara, koitsū.) |
| Peter: やさしく。(Yasashiku.) |
| Yoshi: こいつー。(Koitsū.) |
| Peter: How do you say poke in Japanese? |
| Natsuko: つつく (tsutsuku) |
| Peter: つつく (tsutsuku) yeah, while Yoshi was poking me, つつく (tsutsuku). Yeah he happened to say… |
| Yoshi: こいつー。(Koitsū.) |
| Peter: To show how intimate we are. Thank you, Yoshi. |
| Natsuko: Yeah, you guys look really intimate. |
| Peter: All right. So as with many things and in many languages, the harshest words seem to be used in the intimate circle. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Peter: And this is a similar case here. Originally it’s not a good word but again in intimate circles, it is used. Next we have |
| Natsuko: 怖い (kowai) |
| Peter: Scary. |
| Natsuko: (slow) こわい (kowai) (natural speed) 怖い (kowai) |
| Peter: Next vocab word. |
| Natsuko: 逃げる (nigeru) |
| Peter: To escape, to flee. |
| Natsuko: (slow) にげる (nigeru) (natural speed) 逃げる (nigeru) |
| Peter: And finally we have |
| Yoshi: 降りる (oriru) |
| Peter: To get off. |
| Yoshi: (slow) おりる (oriru) (natural speed) 降りる (oriru) |
| Peter: Now this is used for vehicles or moving things. So the elevator was moving. So she said |
| Natsuko: 早く降りたい。(Hayaku oritai.) |
| Peter: I want to get off quickly. What other vehicles will we use this word for? |
| Natsuko: 車 (kururma) |
| Peter: Car. |
| Natsuko: バス (basu) |
| Peter: Bus. |
| Natsuko: 電車 (densha) |
| Peter: Train. |
| Natsuko: 飛行機 (hikōki) |
| Peter: Airplane. |
| Natsuko: 船 (fune) |
| Peter: Boat. How about “horse”? |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. |
| Peter: Your specialty. Natsuko-san is an expert on.. |
| Natsuko: No, no, no, no…. |
| Peter: Horses in Japan. |
| Natsuko: No not really. |
| Peter: So anything that you can mount. |
| Yoshi: You can also use this word 降りる (oriru) for like projects and stuff. |
| Peter: Could you give us an example? |
| Yoshi: このプロジェクトから降りる。(Kono purojekuto kara oriru.) |
| Peter: I am departing this project. When you say 降りる (oriru), it’s kind of like you want to leave this project for some reason. |
| Yoshi: Right. You are leaving the project for some reason. |
| Peter: And is there a hint of you want to or that doesn’t really matter? |
| Yoshi: I think you are willing to. |
| Peter: But not always the case. |
| Yoshi: Right. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Peter: So this word has multiple uses when getting off or leaving departing from something. Okay, now let’s take a look at what she said to herself in today’s conversation. So Natsuko-san, can you give us what she says to herself in the conversation? |
| Natsuko: この人どこかおかしいわ。こいつ何考えてるの？なんかちょっと怖い。いや、怖い！やー、こっち見てる。(Kono hito dokoka okashii wa. Koitsu nani kangaete ru no? Nanka chotto kowai. Iya, kowai! Yā, kotchi mite ru.) |
| Peter: Now let’s take a closer look at this. Give us the first line, one more time. |
| Natsuko: この人どこかおかしいわ。(Kono hito dokoka okashii wa.) |
| Peter: Right after the gentleman says そうですね (sō desu ne) and he starts to think, maybe now he is making some expressions. Then it starts to show and she looks at him and sees this and it translates to this person, somewhere strange. One more time, Natsuko-san. |
| Natsuko: この人どこかおかしいわ。(Kono hito dokoka okashii wa.) |
| Peter: This person is somewhere strange and it’s interpreted as there is something wrong with this guy. Now again we talked about this previously. The Japanese use どこ (doko) where, to talk about that place that’s strange, that place that’s good どこがいいですか (doko ga ii desu ka), どこがおかしいですか (doko ga okashii desu ka). In Japanese, it’s that place. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Peter: So here there is something wrong with him, some place, somewhere strange with this guy and this sentence ends with the particle |
| Natsuko: わ (wa) |
| Peter: Can you tell us something about this particle? |
| Natsuko: It’s a female expression. |
| Peter: And what role does it play? |
| Natsuko: It emphasizes the statement. |
| Peter: Yeah. So there is really something wrong with this guy. So this is followed by |
| Natsuko: こいつ何考えてるの？(Koitsu nani kangaete ru no?) |
| Peter: Again we have this guy but now he has been demoted. He started off この人 (kono hito) this guy, not a polite expression. So there is already something wrong. Then he may have pulled something else that makes it even like all right, now she is getting nervous because now there is really something wrong and we could tell by the way she refers to this guy. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: And you could tell that she is addressing herself by the line she is saying, by the Japanese she is using. One can be very informal with oneself. Even if you are speaking polite Japanese, you can be thinking. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Primal Japanese, we will call it. So he is already down to こいつ (koitsu). Again this guy what thinking. What’s this guy thinking and we could tell this is a question by the intonation and the final particle |
| Natsuko: の (no) |
| Peter: Next we have |
| Natsuko: なんかちょっと怖い。(Nanka chotto kowai.) |
| Peter: なんか (nanka) |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: What does this mean? |
| Natsuko: Something. |
| Peter: Something. |
| Natsuko: But it’s often used as a filler. |
| Peter: Yeah, the Japanese have a few fillers that are commonly used. You will hear えっと (etto) over and over and this one you will hear a lot too, however with this one, it’s quite informal. You don’t want to go into business meeting, you don’t want to go into a formal situation なんか (nanka), なんか (nanka). |
| Natsuko: Yes. That might look a bit stupid. |
| Peter: Yeah, or at least like you are intellectually overmatched but we will cover this in a different lesson, a whole lesson just on fillers. This is followed by |
| Natsuko: ちょっと (chotto) |
| Peter: A little. |
| Natsuko: 怖い (kowai) |
| Peter: Scary. So umm I am a little scared. Then that changes to |
| Natsuko: いや、怖い！(Iya, kowai!) |
| Peter: Nope, I am scared. So we really need to get a video tape of the expressions Yoshi was pulling in the studio. |
| Yoshi: Maybe you don’t want to see it. |
| Peter: Yoshi, there is nobody that doesn’t want to see you. You are a popular guy. |
| Yoshi: Thanks. |
| Peter: Then we have. |
| Natsuko: やー、こっち見てる。(Yā, kotchi mite ru.) |
| Peter: Now the second one is actually やー (yā) and the first one is |
| Natsuko: いや (iya) |
| Peter: Which is a no, a type of nope. And here we have some more informal Japanese, こっち (kotchi). Now this is informal for which word, Natsuko-san? |
| Natsuko: こちら (kochira) |
| Peter: Meaning this area, this way. So the expression |
| Natsuko: こっち見てる (kotchi mite ru) |
| Peter: Literally means here looking, this way looking, this area looking but again we have to reverse it around and we know that she is talking about him. So we add the subject, he is looking this way and she doesn’t like it. And now she feels really uncomfortable. Right at that time, he chimes in with |
| Yoshi: あのー (anō) |
| Peter: He starts talking again and she first thinks |
| Natsuko: 逃げよう (nigeyō) |
| Peter: Which is the informal volitional of |
| Natsuko: 逃げる (nigeru) |
| Peter: To escape. So she says |
| Natsuko: 逃げよう (nigeyō) |
| Peter: So she is speaking to herself saying, let’s get out of here. Notice how she is more polite to herself than yesterday that guy. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: But it’s not uncommon for males and females to use both when speaking to oneself but again the informal which brings us to today’s grammar point. Now in today’s grammar point, we are covering the informal volitional of class 2 verbs. Natsuko-san, can you give us the class 2 verb? |
| Natsuko: 見る (miru) |
| Peter: In Japanese, they refer to as 一段 (ichi-dan) verbs. More inside our grammar bank about this. Now Natsuko-san, how do we form the informal volitional? |
| Natsuko: You drop る (ru) and add よう (yō). |
| Peter: Find the stem which we do for class 2 verbs by dropping る (ru) and we attach |
| Natsuko: よう (yō) |
Outro |
|---|
| Peter: That’s it. Another simple conjugation and this structure is extremely important. With that said, that’s going to do for today. |
| Natsuko: じゃあ、また明日ね。(Jā, mata ashita ne.) |
| Yoshi: またね。(Mata ne.) |
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