Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Chigusa: おはよう、お月様。ちぐさです。(Ohayō, o-tsuki-sama. Chigusa desu.)
Yoshi: おはよう、お月様。よしです。(Ohayō, o-tsuki-sama. Yoshi desu.)
Peter: Peter here. Beginner lesson #131.Okay, we have a really fun lesson for you today, really fun. In Japanese, we have a lot of what? Chigusa-san, help me out here with this difficult English word.
Chigusa: We have a lot of onomatopoeia.
Peter: Onomatopoeia. Yoshi-san.
Yoshi: Who wants to go to the bathroom?
Peter: All right umm, yes a lot of these words. Now, these words represent sounds. So the sound of something is put into a word. For example, the barking of a dog. In English, we say bark. In Japanese, it is
Chigusa: ワンワン (wanwan)
Peter: Very nice dog, Chigusa-san and last week, we covered a whole bunch of animals. Where Japanese is quite unique is the fact that they also have these words for emotions and other things not related to sounds and in Japanese, there are many, many of these. Now today’s conversation is really fun. Between two college friends who haven’t seen each other in a while, one girl, one guy, informal Japanese and a lot of Chigusa-san, one more time.
Chigusa: Onomatopoeia.
Peter: There it is. Okay, so with that said, let’s get into today’s conversation.
DIALOGUE
かおる (Kaoru) : 久しぶり!元気?(Hisashiburi! Genki?)
としお (Toshio) : ぼちぼち。かおるは?(Bochibochi. Kaoru wa?)
かおる (Kaoru) : ばっちり。新しい彼氏ができた。もーラブラブだよ。優しくて。(Batchiri. Atarashii kareshi ga dekita. Mō raburabu da yo. Yasashikute.)
としお (Toshio) : よかったね。前の彼はいつもイライラしてたからね。(Yokatta ne. Mae no kare wa itsumo iraira shite ta kara ne.)
かおる (Kaoru) : でもね、彼はイケメンだからモテモテで、ちょっと心配。(Demo ne, kare wa ikemen da kara motemote de, chotto shinpai.)
としお (Toshio) : 大丈夫だよ!(Daijōbu da yo!)
Chigusa: 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.)
かおる (Kaoru) : 久しぶり!元気?(Hisashiburi! Genki?)
としお (Toshio) : ぼちぼち。かおるは?(Bochibochi. Kaoru wa?)
かおる (Kaoru) : ばっちり。新しい彼氏ができた。もーラブラブだよ。優しくて。(Batchiri. Atarashii kareshi ga dekita. Mō raburabu da yo. Yasashikute.)
としお (Toshio) : よかったね。前の彼はいつもイライラしてたからね。(Yokatta ne. Mae no kare wa itsumo iraira shite ta kara ne.)
かおる (Kaoru) : でもね、彼はイケメンだからモテモテで、ちょっと心配。(Demo ne, kare wa ikemen da kara motemote de, chotto shinpai.)
としお (Toshio) : 大丈夫だよ!(Daijōbu da yo!)
Yoshi: 今回は、ピーターさんの英語が入ります。(Konkai wa, Pītā-san no Eigo ga hairimasu.)
かおる (Kaoru) : 久しぶり!(Hisashiburi!)
KAORU: Long time no see!
かおる (Kaoru) : 元気?(Genki?)
KAORU: How have you been?
としお (Toshio) : ぼちぼち。(Bochibochi.)
TOSHIO: Just getting by.
としお (Toshio) : かおるは?(Kaoru wa?)
TOSHIO: How about you, Kaoru?
かおる (Kaoru) : ばっちり。(Batchiri.)
KAORU: I'm great.
かおる (Kaoru) : 新しい彼氏ができた。(Atarashii kareshi ga dekita.)
KAORU: I got a new boyfriend.
かおる (Kaoru) : もーラブラブだよ。(Mō raburabu da yo.)
KAORU: We are so in love.
かおる (Kaoru) : 優しくて。(Yasashikute.)
KAORU: He's so nice, and you know.
としお (Toshio) : よかったね。(Yokatta ne.)
TOSHIO: Good for you.
としお (Toshio) : 前の彼はいつもイライラしてたからね。(Mae no kare wa itsumo iraira shite ta kara ne.)
TOSHIO: Because your last boyfriend was always in a bad mood.
かおる (Kaoru) : でもね、彼はイケメンだからモテモテで、(Demo ne, kare wa ikemen da kara motemote de,)
KAORU: But because he's good looking, he's popular,
かおる (Kaoru) : ちょっと心配。(chotto shinpai.)
KAORU: And I'm a little worried.
としお (Toshio) : 大丈夫だよ!(Daijōbu da yo!)
TOSHIO: It'll be alright.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Peter: Yoshi-san, let’s ask Chigusa-san what she thought of today’s conversation.
Yoshi: ちぐささん、今日の会話はどうでしたか。(Chigusa-san, kyō no kaiwa wa dō deshita ka.)
Chigusa: 今日の会話はいいですね。羨ましいですね、イケメンの彼氏は。(Kyō no kaiwa wa ii desu ne. Urayamashii desu ne, ikemen no kareshi wa.)
Peter: English please.
Chigusa: Today’s conversation was really good and I envy this person who has a new boyfriend who is good looking.
Peter: Interesting. Huh, very interesting. Let’s get into today’s vocabulary.
VOCAB LIST  
Yoshi: Yeah. 最初のキーワードは、ぼちぼち (Saisho no kīwādo wa, bochibochi)
Peter: Just getting by.
Yoshi: (slow) ぼちぼち (bochibochi) (natural speed) ぼちぼち (bochibochi)
Peter: Now use this to reply to Chigusa-san’s question. How are you? You said
Yoshi: ぼちぼち。(Bochibochi.)
Peter: Just getting by. So we can use it here. Any other instances come to your mind when you use this word?
Yoshi: You know this is a very, very famous phrase from the Osaka or Kansai area.
Peter: Really?
Yoshi: Uhoo. There is a phrase. One person asks, 儲かりまっか (mōkarimakka).
Peter: And what does that mean?
Yoshi: It’s like how is your business going or like are you making money?
Chigusa: Yeah, are you making money?
Peter: Are you making money? One more time.
Yoshi: 儲かりまっか (mōkarimakka) and the other person can’t say this, ぼちぼちでんなあ (bochibochi dennā).
Peter: So can you run this back with Chigusa-san?
Yoshi: Yeah. 儲かりまっか。(Mōkarimakka.)
Chigusa: ぼちぼちでんなあ。(Bochibochi dennā.)
Peter: I like it.
Yoshi: So it’s like how is your business going? Are you making lots of money? Then the other person is saying, ah you know I am just getting by.
Peter: Got it. So in the dialogue, the second party, you Yoshi-san, you are all right. Not as good as かおる (Kaoru) which is Chigusa’s name in the dialogue. Next we have
Chigusa: バッチリ (batchiri)
Peter: Perfect. Now you can use this too, when replying to the question how are you and when you reply to this, how are things.
Chigusa: Great.
Peter: Really, really good. Now we can also use this with work and I suppose dating with your girlfriend. How are things going between you and your girlfriend? - バッチリ(batchiri), right?
Chigusa: Right.
Peter: So maybe you could give us a quick sample here. Chigusa-san, let’s ask Yoshi-san how work is going.
Chigusa: 仕事どう?(Shigoto dō?)
Yoshi: バッチリだよ。(Batchiri da yo.)
Peter: Okay, this is followed by
Yoshi: ラブラブ (raburabu)
Peter: Lovey-dovey.
Yoshi: (slow) らぶらぶ (raburabu) (natural speed) ラブラブ (raburabu)
Peter: Now the word ラブ (rabu) Yoshi san, give it to us, one more time.
Yoshi: ラブ (rabu)
Peter: This alone means love. Twice together, lovey-dovey and it’s used when I think often with new couples who get together and they are very passionate. So we have this expression,
Yoshi: ラブラブ (raburabu)
Peter: Chigusa-san, can you give us an example?
Chigusa: あの二人はラブラブだね。(Ano futari wa raburabu da ne.)
Peter: Those two are lovey-dovey. Those two are so into each other. Okay, next we have
Chigusa: イケメン (ikemen)
Peter: A good looking guy.
Chigusa: (slow) いけめん (ikemen) (natural speed) イケメン (ikemen)
Peter: Now Chigusa-san, do you know where this word came from?
Chigusa: Yes.
Peter: You do?
Chigusa: Yeah.
Peter: Can you help us out?
Chigusa: イケメン (ikemen) came from いけてる面 (iketeru men) and いけてる (iketeru) means like really good and…
Peter: Like got it going on.
Chigusa: Yeah and 面 (men) means face, 面 (men) is kanji for お面の面 (omen no men) and it means face.
Peter: So…
Chigusa: So put together いけてるメン (iketeru men), イケメン (ikemen).
Peter: Got it going on face.
Chigusa: Yeah.
Peter: His face has got it going on.
Chigusa: Yeah.
Peter: Really interesting, イケメン (ikemen). Now I think some people might want to know what we say about females.
Chigusa: Huh there is no word for イケメン (ikemen) for girls.
Peter: Next we have
Yoshi: モテモテ (motemote)
Peter: Popular among people.
Yoshi: (slow) もてもて (motemote) (natural speed) モテモテ (motemote)
Peter: Now Yoshi-san, any idea where this word came from?
Yoshi: I am pretty sure it came from the verb, 持つ (motsu).
Peter: To hold.
Yoshi: To have or to carry. So it’s a 持つ (motsu) x 2 means you have a lot.
Peter: Really good pneumatic.
Yoshi: So it means like you have a lot to hold. That means you are so popular.
Peter: But we can use this expression with girls too, right?
Chigusa: Right.
Yoshi: Or even like you know if there is a nice guy or girl who is popular among little kids like who is nice to the kids and you know, they play with him, then you can also use this, 彼はモテモテね (kare wa motemote ne).
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Peter: Okay, so with that said, let’s take a look at today’s conversation. We are going to run through it real quick and see what we could find there line by line. First line.
Chigusa: 久しぶり。 元気?(Hisashiburi. Genki?)
Peter: First word in there.
Chigusa: 久しぶり (hisashiburi)
Peter: Long time, it’s been a while. Next.
Chigusa: 元気?(Genki?)
Peter: And this is pretty straightforward. It’s been a while, followed by how are you, how is it going? Now in this context, again the amazing thing about Japanese is a lot is inferred. We have here just 元気 (genki). Now we realize from the previous word 久しぶり (hisashiburi), that it’s been a while. So here it would actually be interpreted as how have you been from the last time till now. How is it going? It’s just not, “How are you?” That nuance is actually in there like how are you from the last time we met to now. A lot just inside that 元気 (genki), the response is
Yoshi: ぼちぼち。(Bochibochi.)
Peter: I am doing all right and again, here this word says it all. That’s why these words are very difficult to translate directly. Again some of them are words for sounds but some of them actually take on words for emotions. And here, all right, things are moving along. I am all right. I am getting by. Then he throws it back to her.
Yoshi: かおるは?(Kaoru wa?)
Peter: Here name is
Yoshi: かおる (Kaoru)
Peter: Followed by
Yoshi: は (wa)
Peter: And the sentence ends here. Again the rest is inferred. Yoshi-san, what would come after that if we put it in.
Yoshi: かおるは元気?(Kaoru wa genki?)
Peter: And you, how are you?
Chigusa: バッチリ。(Batchiri.)
Peter: And there, it is perfect.
Chigusa: 新しい彼氏ができた。(Atarashii kareshi ga dekita.)
Peter: Literally this sentence means “boyfriend got.” Now here the verb できる (dekiru) is not acting as the potential. Here it can be translated as to get and that’s in its past tense got. Boyfriend got. Now this is the literal translation. When we interpret this into English, I got a boyfriend. Again verb comes from the back to the front, 彼氏ができた (kareshi ga dekita) and of course, we are going to have the same thing for girls, 彼女ができた (kanojo ga dekita). Then we have
Chigusa: もうラブラブだよ。(Mō raburabu da yo.)
Peter: We are lovey-dovey. Again the subject is inferred here. The speaker is obviously included plus the boyfriend that was just mentioned. So there is no need to mention it again. So we are so in love and the final particle よ (yo) to add emphasis. Then we have
Chigusa: 優しくて。(Yasashikute.)
Peter: Now this sentence says, he is nice and again, subject inferred. If we put the subject and the sentence reads
Chigusa: 彼は優しくて。(Kare wa yasashikute.)
Peter: He is nice and, but it’s inferred. Then we have, Yoshi-san says
Yoshi: よかったね。(Yokatta ne.)
Peter: That’s good. Isn’t it. That sentence ending particle ね (ne) affirms what he is saying. That’s good, isn’t it?
Yoshi: 前の彼はいつもイライラしてたからね。(Mae no kare wa itsumo iraira shite ta kara ne.)
Peter: Ex-boyfriend. We have
Yoshi: 前の彼 (mae no kare)
Peter: 前 (mae), before and then we have the possessive の (no). Before’s guy, the guy before if we turn it around. The boyfriend before.
Yoshi: You can also say 元カレ (motokare) as an ex-boyfriend.
Peter: So there are two ways to say it.
Yoshi: (slow) もとかれ (motokare) (natural speed) 元カレ (motokare)
Peter: Then we have
Yoshi: は (wa)
Peter: Topic marker.
Yoshi: いつも (itsumo)
Peter: Always.
Yoshi: イライラしてたからね (iraira shite ta kara ne)
Peter: He was always in a bad mood because. So we have to turn this sentence around. Because your ex-boyfriend was always in a bad mood. This is followed by
Chigusa: でもね、(Demo ne,)
Peter: Now here is the subtle nuance. でもね (demo ne), but. So the topic will change to something not good because before she was raving about him. Now there is a little something to worry about and that is
Chigusa: 彼はイケメンだからモテモテで、(kare wa ikemen da kara motemote de,)
Peter: He got it going on face because it's popular. Now we've got to get in there and really look at the details. Let’s take that, popular. He is popular. Then let’s take that because again we are going back to forward. After that topic marker he, we are going exactly back to front. He – again, listen to it again. But this is the topic and it’s marked by は (wa). After that, it reads got it going on face because it's popular. Now let’s take that last one. He is popular. Then we have because – because his face got it going on. And then we make it into an English sentence, he is popular because his face got it going on. And then again we can just make it he is popular because he is good looking, followed by
Chigusa: ちょっと心配。(chotto shinpai.)
Peter: So I’m a little worried. Again here the subject is inferred. If we put subject, then it reads
Chigusa: 私はちょっと心配。(Watashi wa chotto shinpai.)
Peter: And finally
Yoshi: 大丈夫だよ! (Daijōbu da yo!)
Peter: It will be alright. It will be alright for who, Yoshi-san?
Yoshi: For かおるさん (Kaoru-san).
Peter: Yes, so if we put the subject in,
Yoshi: かおるさんは大丈夫だよ。(Kaoru-san wa daijōbu da yo.)
Peter: There it is. Okay, we ran long today, but again, stop by Japanesepod101.com. Inside the PDF, lots more details, lots more to bring it all together, more about this, Chigusa-san help us out here.
Chigusa: Onomatopoeia.

Outro

Peter: We want to put it out on the bonus track. I like it. Okay, more about that plus inside the learning center, things to bring it all together. All right, that’s going to do it for today.
Chigusa: またね。(Mata ne.)
Yoshi: またね。(Mata ne.)

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