Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Natsuko: おはよう、リュブリャナ。ナツコです。(Ohayō, Ryuburyana. Natsuko desu.)
Yoshi: おはよう、リュブリャナ。よしです。(Ohayō, Ryuburyana. Yoshi desu.)
Peter: Peter here. Beginner lesson #125. Now before we get into today’s lesson, a few things we want to talk about. Last week, we released the I Love video. Now for those of you who haven’t seen it, we cannot recommend it enough. Stop by and check out the video. We have three versions. One as is, no subtitles at all, then we have one with English subtitles, then we have one with the Japanese subtitles. So no matter what level, you can enjoy the video from japanesepod101.com. Second, Yoshi-san, one of our listeners in the US, a young man named Justin. He put together a comic based on one of our stories. Yoshi-san, what did you think?
Yoshi: It was unbelievable.
Peter: Learning Japanese with Anime. Now you might be asking, so how can you do that? If you come to japanesepod101.com, you can check it out. His comic is actually interactive. When you scroll over the Japanese, you can actually select it and that will play the audio file. So not only can you see his amazing artwork, you can listen and hear the dialogue. So it really helps you put it together. We cannot recommend this enough. Come by, check it out and leave us a post. Give us all the feedback you can. Again feedback about this, about everything. So stop by, say hi, and be sure to leave us a post. With that said, let’s get into today’s conversation. Here we go.
DIALOGUE
外国人 (gaikokujin) : すみません。お寿司の食べ方を教えてくれませんか。(Sumimasen. O-sushi no tabekata o oshiete kuremasen ka.)
日本人 (Nihon-jin) : はい、お醤油をこのお皿に入れて、お箸で取って、ひっくり返して、ねたをお醤油につけて食べます。(Hai, o-shōyu o kono o-sara ni irete, o-hashi de totte, hikkurikaeshite, neta o o-shōyu ni tsukete tabemasu.)
爺さん (jii-san) : 違う!本当のお寿司の食べ方は手で食べるんだよ。(Chigau! Hontō no o-sushi no tabekata wa te de taberu n da yo.)
一斉に (issei ni) : ヘー、そうなんですか。(Hē, sō nan desu ka.)
爺さん (jii-san) : まったく、最近の若いもんは分かってないな。ま、いいか、勝手に食え。(Mattaku, saikin no wakai mon wa wakatte nai na. Ma, ii ka, katte ni kue.)
Yoshi: 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.)
外国人 (gaikokujin) : すみません。お寿司の食べ方を教えてくれませんか。(Sumimasen. O-sushi no tabekata o oshiete kuremasen ka.)
日本人 (Nihon-jin) : はい、お醤油をこのお皿に入れて、お箸で取って、ひっくり返して、ねたをお醤油につけて食べます。(Hai, o-shōyu o kono o-sara ni irete, o-hashi de totte, hikkurikaeshite, neta o o-shōyu ni tsukete tabemasu.)
爺さん (jii-san) : 違う!本当のお寿司の食べ方は手で食べるんだよ。(Chigau! Hontō no o-sushi no tabekata wa te de taberu n da yo.)
一斉に (issei ni) : ヘー、そうなんですか。(Hē, sō nan desu ka.)
爺さん (jii-san) : まったく、最近の若いもんは分かってないな。ま、いいか、勝手に食え。(Mattaku, saikin no wakai mon wa wakatte nai na. Ma, ii ka, katte ni kue.)
Yoshi: 次は、ピーターさんの英語が入ります。(Tsugi wa, Pītā-san no Eigo ga hairimasu.)
外国人 (gaikokujin) : すみません。お寿司の食べ方を教えてくれませんか。(Sumimasen. O-sushi no tabekata o oshiete kuremasen ka.)
FOREIGNER: Excuse me. Could you teach me how to eat Sushi?
日本人 (Nihon-jin) : はい、お醤油をこのお皿に入れて、お箸で取って、(Hai, o-shōyu o kono o-sara ni irete, o-hashi de totte,)
JAPANESE: Yes, put some soy sauce in this dish, pick it up with the chopsticks,
日本人 (Nihon-jin) : ひっくり返して、ねたをお醤油につけて食べます。(hikkurikaeshite, neta o o-shōyu ni tsukete tabemasu.)
JAPANESE: turn it over, dip the top in soy sauce and eat it.
爺さん (jii-san) : 違う!本当のお寿司の食べ方は手で食べるんだよ。(Chigau! Hontō no o-sushi no tabekata wa te de taberu n da yo.)
OLD MAN: Wrong! The real way to eat sushi is with your hands.
一斉に (issei ni) : ヘー、そうなんですか。(Hē, sō nan desu ka.)
IN UNISON: Huh, really?
爺さん (jii-san) : まったく、最近の若いもんは分かってないな。(Mattaku, saikin no wakai mon wa wakatte nai na.)
OLD MAN: Jeez, young people these days don't know anything.
爺さん (jii-san) : ま、いいか、勝手に食え。(Ma, ii ka, katte ni kue.)
OLD MAN: Oh forget it, eat it however you like.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Peter: Yoshi-san, let’s ask Natsuko-san what she thought of today’s conversation.
Yoshi: ナツコさん、今日の会話はどうでしたか。(Natsuko-san, kyō no kaiwa wa dō deshita ka.)
Natsuko: そうですね。私も普段はお寿司を箸で食べますよ。(Sō desu ne. Watashi mo fudan wa o-sushi o hashi de tabemasu yo.)
Peter: English please.
Natsuko: Well I usually eat Sushi with my chopsticks.
Peter: Now if I pick up Sushi with my hands, am I going to be looked at strangely?
Natsuko: Umm it depends on the situation.
Peter: Give me one situation where it might not be okay.
Natsuko: Well like in a very high class party, maybe you might look a bit rude.
Peter: The old man in here is saying that the proper way to eat sushi is with one’s hands.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Have you heard anything about this?
Natsuko: Yeah. I heard that these 江戸前寿司 (Edomae sushi), the edo origin sushi used to be you know eaten by hands because they used to be a very casual snack foods.
Peter: Ah.
Natsuko: So they didn’t properly sit down and eat with chopsticks like every meal.
Peter: Got it and eating Sushi in Japan with one’s hands is quite common?
Natsuko: I think people do but maybe not so common among younger people.
Peter: Can you give us some tips on situations? For example, if I go to a party, should I use my hands to eat Sushi?
Natsuko: I think you better not.
Peter: Okay. How about in a family situation?
Natsuko: Yeah, that might be good.
Peter: So the more casual it is, the more comfortable you can feel to describe it and pick it up and eat with your hands.
Natsuko: Yes, and maybe in some very traditional sushi bars, you know the people in the restaurant know that the traditional way to eat sushi is with your hands.
Peter: Got it. Yoshi-san, have you ever eaten Sushi with your hands?
Yoshi: Yes, I have.
Peter: Elaborate.
Yoshi: I think it tastes even better when you use your hand.
Peter: Really?
Yoshi: Because I like the texture and I think it tastes better and I like to get down and get dirty with my hands.
Natsuko: Well I think that it might be easier to eat with your hands.
Peter: Yeah. So if you are struggling with the chopsticks, feel free to just pick it up and as Yoshi said, get down and dirty. And it does have that nice texture. You know the rice is warm.
Natsuko: Yeah.
Peter: The fish is cold. Yeah it does have a certain appeal to it and it’s easier to flip it over.
Natsuko: Right.
Peter: And speaking of flip it over, let’s get into today’s vocabulary. Natsuko-san, first word.
VOCAB LIST
Natsuko: ひっくり返す (hikkurikaesu)
Peter: To turn over, to upset.
Natsuko: (slow) ひっくりかえす (hikkurikaesu) (natural speed) ひっくり返す (hikkurikaesu)
Peter: Great word here. Really good vocabulary. Yoshi-san, can you give us a sample sentence?
Yoshi: お父さんは怒ってちゃぶ台をひっくり返した。(O-tō-san wa okotte chabudai o hikkurikaeshita.)
Peter: The father got angry and flipped over the table. Well you get the point. Umm I think the sentence exemplifies the word very well. Let’s just take a closer look. What is the word for table in there? This is actually a Japanese style table.
Natsuko: ちゃぶ台 (chabudai)
Peter: Break it down.
Natsuko: (slow) ちゃぶだい (chabudai) (natural speed) ちゃぶ台 (chabudai)
Peter: Natsuko-san, what kind of table is this?
Natsuko: It’s round-shaped and low because Japanese lifestyle used to not use the chairs but they sit directly on the Tatami mat.
Peter: So it’s about two-feet high, right?
Natsuko: Yes, right, and you can fold the legs.
Peter: Really?
Natsuko: Yes, to store it.
Peter: That’s convenient.
Natsuko: Yes, very much.
Peter: All right. Next we have
Yoshi: 勝手に (katte ni)
Peter: As one likes. What a great phrase we have here. Natsuko-san, what do you think?
Natsuko: いや、それは勝手にどうぞ。(Iya, sore wa katte ni dōzo.)
Yoshi: (slow) かってに (katte ni) (natural speed) 勝手に (katte ni)
Peter: Now there is a 小っちゃい「つ」(chitchai “tsu”) in there which means you have to pause for a second. Instead of
Yoshi: かて (kate)
Peter: It’s actually, Yoshi-san.
Yoshi: かって (katte)
Peter: So this pause in there is something that you will get used to the more and more you hear it. Natsuko-san, sample sentence please.
Natsuko: 勝手にしろ。(Katte ni shiro.)
Peter: Do whatever you like and this is quite strong. So by adding にする (ni suru) we can turn this into do what you like. Now Natsuko-san, does this expression have a bit of selfish nuance to it?
Natsuko: Yes, the word 勝手 (katte) is yes more like a selfish kind of expression.
Peter: Because you know in English, we can say ah do whatever you like.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Or do whatever you like but in English, we have the intonation that kind of conveys the speaker’s feeling.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: About whether the word has a positive or negative nuance. With this word, is there ever an instance where it has a positive?
Natsuko: Hardly.
Peter: Hardly. Okay, now in the dialogue, we had
Natsuko: 勝手に食え (katte ni kue)
Peter: Which is really, really strong.
Natsuko: Right.
Peter: So this old man, what kind of mood would you say he is in?
Natsuko: Grumpy.
Peter: Grumpy. Now here he is using 勝手に (katte ni) to modify the very informal way of to eat, which is
Natsuko: 食う (kū)
Peter: Break that down.
Natsuko: (slow) くう (kū) (natural speed) 食う (kū)
Peter: So it’s a class 1 verb and when we make it into the imperative, it becomes
Natsuko: 食え (kue)
Peter: So he is saying 勝手に食え (katte ni kue). Now here it’s modifying this. Eat however you like, eat the way you want. So again, it's selfish. Next we have
Yoshi: 若い (wakai)
Natsuko: 若いもん (wakai mon)
Peter: Young person.
Natsuko: (slow) わかいもん (wakai mon) (natural speed) 若いもん (wakai mon)
Peter: Now this is actually a derivative of
Natsuko: 若い者 (wakai mono)
Peter: 者 (mono) becomes
Natsuko: もん (mon)
Peter: That の (no) gets condensed into a ん (n). Okay, this is followed by the next vocab word.
Yoshi: ねた (neta)
Peter: Topping of 握りずし (nigirizushi)
Yoshi: (slow) ねた (neta) (natural speed) ねた (neta)
Peter: Now it’s that little piece of something fish or any other thing that’s placed on top of the sushi. Let’s ask Yoshi-san this one. Yoshi-san, if I say the word ねた (neta), what do you automatically think of? Do you think of what comes on top of the sushi or do you think of something else?
Yoshi: I think I would think of a comedy skit where all the comedians like their themes of their little comedy skit.
Peter: Yeah. So this word has multiple meanings. So if you go into the sushi place and you want to know if they have something good, Natsuko-san, can you give us an example sentence?
Natsuko: 今日はいいネタ入ってますか。(Kyō wa ii neta haitte masu ka.)
Peter: Today, are there some good toppings? Something fresh like a little, if you want that inside track.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: We can ask them.
Natsuko: いいネタ入ってますか。(Ii neta haitte masu ka.)
Peter: All right. That’s good. See, now I am learning something. I am going to try that when I go to a sushi place and unfortunately the one around here is always closed but I don’t know. Okay, next we have.
Natsuko: 箸 (hashi)
Peter: Chopsticks.
Natsuko: (slow) はし (hashi) (natural speed) 箸 (hashi)
Peter: And they are often referred to with the honorific prefix
Natsuko: お (o)
Peter: Making
Natsuko: お箸 (o-hashi)
Peter: Next we have
Yoshi: 皿 (sara)
Peter: Plate.
Yoshi: (slow) さら (sara) (natural speed) 皿 (sara)
Peter: And when we talk about plates, what is the counter that we use for plates?
Yoshi: 枚 (mai)
Peter: Because it’s a thin flat thing. Now when you go to buy sushi at the conveyor belt sushi place, you can order by using the counter 枚 (mai), 一枚 (ichi-mai), 二枚 (ni-mai), 三枚 (san-mai) letting the person know how many plates of that particular sushi you want. Yoshi-san, quick example. If I wanted two plates of tuna, I would say
Yoshi: マグロを二枚 (maguro o ni-mai)
Peter: Okay. Next we have
Yoshi: ま、いいか。(Ma, ii ka.)
Peter: Now this is very unique. Can we say that Natsuko-san is a unique expression?
Natsuko: Uhoo…
Peter: Now this expression could be translated as whatever, forget it like you’ve given up hope and time to call the quits.
Natsuko: Yeah, right.
Peter: You will definitely come across this expression in TV dramas, in anime, in other things. And last we have
Natsuko: 醤油 (shōyu)
Peter: Soy sauce.
Natsuko: (slow) しょうゆ (shōyu) (natural speed) 醤油 (shōyu)
Peter: In the dialogue – in the dialogue, we attached the honorific prefix
Natsuko: お (o)
Peter: Making.
Natsuko: おしょうゆ (o-shōyu)
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Peter: Now on to today’s grammar point. Today’s grammar point covers the suffix
Natsuko: 方 (kata)
Peter: Which as you said means way of, manner of, how to. For example, in the dialogue we had
Natsuko: 食べ方 (tabekata)
Peter: Way of eating. Natsuko-san, how do we say Yoshi-san has a unique way of speaking?
Natsuko: よしさんの話し方は独特だ。(Yoshi-san no hanashikata wa dokutoku da.)
Peter: I like that 独特よし (dokutoku Yoshi).
Yoshi: It sounds like my poison, poison.
Natsuko: So…
Peter: Can you just break that down for us?
Natsuko: (slow) どくとく (dokutoku) (natural speed) 独特 (dokutoku)

Outro

Peter: Now we are running short on time. So inside today’s PDF, we have a full write up on today’s grammar point. So that’s going to do for today. Stop by japanesepod101.com.
Natsuko: じゃあ、また明日ね。(Jā, mata ashita ne.)
Yoshi: またね。(Mata ne.)

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