Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Naomi: なおみです。(Naomi desu.)
Yūichi: ゆういちです。(Yūichi desu.)
Yūichi: Peter here. Gomi-san in Mangaland, part 1.
Naomi: マンガランドの五味さんの一回目ですね。(Mangarando no Gomi-san no ikkai-me desu ne.)
Peter: That’s right. So Naomi-sensei, what are we talking about today? What are we studying today?
Naomi: Today’s grammar is すぎる (sugiru) as in おもしろすぎる (omoshirosugiru).
Peter: Too funny and the conversation is between.
Yūichi: 星野さん (Hoshino-san) and 五味さん (Gomi-san).
Peter: So is it Mr or Mrs?
Naomi: They are both men.
Peter: So Mr. Hoshino and Mr. Gomi. Afterwards, we will talk a little bit about the characters because of course Gomi is a very interesting word because it can also mean trash.
Naomi: でも (demo), it’s a common family name, right?
Yūichi: Yeah, I have heard of it.
Peter: Yeah, very common.
Naomi: Five flavors.
Peter: Hence the reason. So there is a little sneak preview. Now what is the relationship between the two people?
Naomi: 先輩 (senpai) and 後輩 (kōhai). You are going to explain what 先輩 (senpai) and 後輩 (kōhai), right Peter?
Peter: No problem. 楽勝。(Rakushō.) Okay and Hoshino is the senior.
Naomi: はい、そうです。(Hai, sō desu.)
Peter: So with that said, Hoshino will be speaking informal Japanese and Mr. Gomi will be speaking
Yūichi: Polite Japanese.
Peter: Okay, here we go.
DIALOGUE
(レジにて) (reji nite)
店員 (ten’in) : お会計、3万5600円でございます。(O-kaikei, san-man go-sen roppyaku-en de gozaimasu.)
星野 (Hoshino) : 2人で、3万?5600円?うわっマジ?たけーな。(Futari de, san-man? Go-sen roppyaku-en? Uwa maji? Takē na.)
(外を歩く) (soto o aruku)
五味 (Gomi) : 先輩、本当にいいんですか?僕、半分払いますよ。(Senpai, hontō ni ii n desu ka? Boku, hanbun haraimasu yo.)
星野 (Hoshino) : いいよ。(Ii yo.)
五味 (Gomi) : そうですか。いつもすみません。ごちそうさまです。ゲップ、僕、飲み過ぎましたよ。気持ち悪い...。(Sō desu ka. Itsumo sumimasen. Gochisō-sama desu. Geppu, boku, nomisugimashita yo. Kimochiwarui…)
星野 (Hoshino) : お前、食べ過ぎたんだよ。焼肉15人前も注文して...。どんだけだよ。(O-mae, tabesugita n da yo. Yakiniku jū go-nin mae mo chūmon shite.... Dondake da yo.)
五味 (Gomi) : あ、先輩、しゅ、終電が...。(A, senpai, shu, shūden ga…)
星野 (Hoshino) : しまった!ゆっくり歩き過ぎた!(Shimatta! Yukkuri arukisugita!)
Yūichi: もう一度、お願いします。今度は、ゆっくりお願いします。(Mō ichi-do, onegai shimasu. Kondo wa, yukkuri onegai shimasu.)
Yūichi: 今度は、英語が入ります。(Kondo wa, Eigo ga hairimasu.)
(レジにて) (reji nite)
(at the register)
店員 (ten’in) : お会計、3万5600円でございます。(O-kaikei, san-man go-sen roppyaku-en de gozaimasu.)
WAITER: Your bill comes to 35,600 yen.
星野 (Hoshino) : 2人で、3万?5600円?うわっマジ?たけーな。(Futari de, san-man? Go-sen roppyaku-en? Uwa maji? Takē na.)
HOSHINO: For the two of us? 35,600 yen? For real? That's expensive!
(外を歩く) (soto o aruku)
(walking outside)
五味 (Gomi) : 先輩、本当にいいんですか?僕、半分払いますよ。(Senpai, hontō ni ii n desu ka? Boku, hanbun haraimasu yo.)
GOMI: Senpai, is it really OK? I'll pay for half.
星野 (Hoshino) : いいよ。(Ii yo.)
HOSHINO: Don't worry about it.
五味 (Gomi) : そうですか。いつもすみません。ごちそうさまです。ゲップ、(Sō desu ka. Itsumo sumimasen. Gochisō-sama desu. Geppu,)
GOMI: I see. Sorry for always causing problems. Thank you for the meal. (belch)
五味 (Gomi) : 僕、飲み過ぎましたよ。気持ち悪い...。(boku, nomisugimashita yo. Kimochiwarui…)
GOMI: I drank too much. I don't feel so well.
星野 (Hoshino) : お前、食べ過ぎたんだよ。焼肉15人前も注文して...。どんだけだよ。(O-mae, tabesugita n da yo. Yakiniku jū go-nin mae mo chūmon shite.... Dondake da yo.)
HOSHINO: You ATE too much! Ordering a yaki niku plate for 15 people.
五味 (Gomi) : あ、先輩、しゅ、終電が...。(A, senpai, shu, shūden ga…)
GOMI: Oh! Senpai! La-last train!
星野 (Hoshino) : しまった!ゆっくり歩き過ぎた!(Shimatta! Yukkuri arukisugita!)
HOSHINO: Oh no! We walked too slow!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Peter: ゆういちさん。ゆういち先生。この会話どう思いましたか。(Yūichi-san. Yūichi-sensei. Kono kaiwa dō omoimashita ka.) What do you think of this conversation?
Yūichi: 五味さんはちょっと…友達になりたくないですね。(Gomi-san wa chotto… tomodachi ni naritakunai desu ne.) I don’t want to be a friend with Gomi-San.
Peter: え、本当ですか?(E, hontō desu ka?) Really? なんでですか?(Nande desu ka?) Why?
Yūichi: Because he ordered 焼肉 (yakiniku) for 15 people. He eats too much, 食べ過ぎています (tabesugite imasu).
Peter: So he eats too much.
Naomi: そうですよね。二人で三万五千円…is 高いですね。(Sō desu yo ne. Futari de san-man go-sen-en… takai desu ne.)
Yūichi: はい。(Hai.)
Naomi: ¥35000 for two people. That’s very expensive.
Yūichi: 高すぎ。(Takasugi.)
Peter: Yeah. 賛成できません。(Sansei dekimasen.) I can’t agree. なぜかというと (naze ka to iu to), and the reason why, 先輩が悪いです (senpai ga warui desu).
Yūichi: どうしてですか。(Dōshite desu ka.)
Peter: The mentor is wrong.
Naomi: なんで?(Nande?)
Peter: 先輩だったら後輩と交流するでしょ。(Senpai dattara kōhai to kōryū suru desho.) Like they interact with 後輩 (kōhai). So he should know that this is how 後輩 (kōhai) act. So he should know that if he is going to take the 後輩 (senpai) to a very expensive 焼肉 (yakiniku) place that the 後輩 (kōhai) is going to eat like he has never eaten before because he doesn’t eat.
Naomi: Don’t we have to explain what 先輩 (senpai) and 後輩 (kōhai) mean?
Peter: Yes, we do. So and this is part of the relationship. Basically a 先輩 (senpai) is an older person with some relation and in some cases, it can be translated as mentor and some cases, it can be kind of a person older than you but usually a person who is in the same institution or organization as you. So there are kind of formal 先輩 (senpai) and then there is people who are like mentors who will teach you many various things and the job of the 先輩 (senpai) is I don’t know if it’s written but most 先輩 (senpai) usually take the younger people under their wings, they show them the ropes, they share experiences and they help them progress whether it be work, school or life.
Naomi: うん。すごい、ピーター。(Un. Sugoi, Pītā.)
Peter: So I think the best example is when I was in university, we had a seminar and any time, the new person came to the seminar, he was always free. 先輩 (senpai) take him out, let him eat, tell him about the seminar, tell him about the people in the seminar, introduce them to the various things, tell them like tricks of the trade and slowly you know, the 後輩 (kōhai) actually becomes a 先輩 (senpai) as time goes by and then they reciprocate this to people who then come into the seminar. So jumping back to this, the reason I say the 先輩 (senpai) is wrong is he was a 後輩 (kōhai) once and this 後輩 (kōhai) is probably living on his own in Tokyo, eating couple of Ramen. He takes them out to really great 焼肉 (yakiniku) place. He should know that he is going to really pay for it or he should succumb to the 食べ放題 (tabehōdai) or you can eat. So that in my mind, the 先輩 (senpai) is at fault.
Yūichi: なるほどね。(Naruhodo ne.)
Naomi: We will find out about Gomi-san later in the lesson. So…
Peter: The series?
Naomi: Yeah, following lessons.
Peter: はい。かしこまりました。(Hai. Kashikomarimashita.) On we go to vocabulary.
VOCAB LIST
Naomi: 会計 (kaikei)
Peter: Account, bill, check.
Naomi: (slow) かいけい (kaikei) (natural speed) 会計 (kaikei)
Peter: Next.
Yūichi: マジ (maji)
Peter: Serious.
Yūichi: (slow) マジ (maji) (natural speed) マジ (maji)
Peter: Next.
Naomi: 半分 (hanbun)
Peter: Half.
Naomi: (slow) はんぶん (hanbun) (natural speed) 半分 (hanbun)
Peter: Next.
Yūichi: 先輩 (senpai)
Peter: Senior, superior, upper class men.
Yūichi: (slow) せんぱい (senpai) (natural speed) 先輩 (senpai)
Peter: Next.
Naomi: 払う (harau)
Peter: To pay.
Naomi: (slow) はらう (harau) (natural speed) 払う (harau)
Peter: Next.
Yūichi: 気持ち悪い (kimochi warui)
Peter: To feel sick, to feel uncomfortable.
Yūichi: (slow) きもちわるい (kimochi warui) (natural speed) 気持ち悪い (kimochi warui)
Peter: Next.
Naomi: 焼肉 (yakiniku)
Peter: Korean barbeque.
Naomi: (slow) やきにく (yakiniku) (natural speed) 焼肉 (yakiniku)
Peter: Next.
Yūichi: 一人前 (ichi-ninmae)
Peter: A meal for one. 人前 (ninmae) is preceded by a number and that number determines how many people the meal or plate is for.
Yūichi: (slow) いちにんまえ (ichi-ninmae) (natural speed) 一人前 (ichi-ninmae)
Peter: Next.
Naomi: 終電 (shūden)
Peter: Last train.
Naomi: (slow) しゅうでん (shūden) (natural speed) 終電 (shūden)
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Peter: Okay, let’s take a close look at some of the vocabulary and phrases in today’s lesson. Naomi-sensei, what do we have first?
Naomi: 会計 (kaikei)
Peter: Account, check, bill.
Naomi: If you say 会計お願いします (o-kaikei onegai shimasu),
Peter: Check please.
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) Sometimes people put polite prefix お (o) in front of it and say お会計お願いします (o-kaikei onegai shimasu).
Peter: That’s what I just said. When I want to get the bill, I will say お会計お願いします (o-kaikei onegai shimasu). There is another one too, 勘定 (kanjō).
Naomi: あ、勘定。お勘定。(A, kanjō. O-kanjō.)
Peter: お勘定。(O-kanjō.)
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)
Peter: Long val or short val.
Naomi: お勘定 (o-kanjō)
Peter: Long val. お勘定お願いします。(O-kanjō onegai shimasu.)
Naomi: ちょっとおじさんっぽいですね。(Chotto oji-san ppoi desu ne.)
Peter: So kind of used by older people. So hence the reason I guess I use お会計お願いします (o-kaikei onegai shimasu).
Naomi: そうなのかな。(Sō nano ka na.)
Peter: Next.
Yūichi: 先輩 (senpai)
Peter: Senior, superior, upperclassmen.
Yūichi: 反対の言葉は、後輩ですよね。(Hantai no kotoba wa, kōhai desu yo ne.)
Peter: So the junior person in the relationship.
Naomi: 先輩と後輩。(Senpai to kōhai.)
Peter: We could probably spend all day studying this. I mean this is probably studied in universities around Japan.
Naomi: 先輩 (senpai) can be used as suffix. For example 鈴木先輩 (Suzuki-senpai) but 後輩 (kōhai) cannot be used as a suffix.
Peter: Really?
Naomi: No, 鈴木後輩 (Suzuki-kōhai), nobody says that.
Peter: If you do say, would it be like insulting?
Naomi: 何か変。言わない。(Nanka hen. Iwanai.)
Yūichi: No.
Peter: Interesting.
Naomi: In that case, 鈴木さん (Suzuki-san) or 鈴木君 (Suzuki-kun) or just 鈴木 (Suzuki).
Peter: Makes a lot of sense because the person addressing a 後輩 (kōhai) would not have to put that suffix at the end because they are in the higher position. Next.
Naomi: ごちそうさま。(Gochisō-sama.)
Peter: Thanks for the meal. Thanks for the delicious food. Thanks for the feast.
Naomi: そうですね、あの。(Sō desu ne, ano.) ごちそうさまです (gochisō-sama desu) and ごちそうさまでした (gochisō-sama deshita) are bit different.
Peter: What’s the difference?
Naomi: ごちそうさまです (gochisō-sama desu) can be used before somebody pays the money or before the action has completed but ごちそうさまでした (gochisō-sama deshita) can be used only the action or payment has been finished.
Peter: Great explanation. Now there are kind of many different levels to this like ごちそうさまでした (gochisō-sama deshita) is kind of a very formal expression. So if you know if you are out with a bit of a formal setting or maybe even in polite sentences you can use it but there are also more casual ways to say this.
Naomi: ごちそうさん (gochisō-san)
Peter: Yeah so if you are with friends, you may hear this expression too.
Naomi: うん。両方とも大丈夫ですね。(Un. Ryōhō tomo daijōbu desu ne.) And if you want somebody to pay the bill for you, you can say ごちそうさまです (gochisō-sama desu) like before – before somebody actually pays it. It means I am not going to pay. You are the one who is going to pay.
Peter: So if Yuichi-sensei and I are out with Naomi-senpai, we can say ごちそうさまです、なおみ先輩 (gochisō-sama desu, Naomi-senpai),
Yūichi: No it’s just kind of we are forcing her to pay like…
Naomi: そうそうそうそう。(Sō sō sō sō.)
Peter: Yes.
Naomi: でもね、いつもピーターさん、ごちそうさまです。(Demo ne, itsumo Pītā-san, gochisō-sama desu.)
Yūichi: ごちそうさまです。(Gochisō-sama desu.)
Peter: Here we go. So yes. So it’s a very interesting way of hinting it like we have the same thing in English. Thanks for taking care of the meal Naomi and passing the bill.
Naomi: そうそうそう、そういうことです。(Sō sō sō, sō iu koto desu.)
Peter: ごちそうさまです、なおみ先輩。(Gochisō-sama desu, Naomi-senpai.) So this is probably like a pretty common one heard in schools at various circles and high school or university.
Naomi: High school! High school から始めるの、そんなこと。(“High school” kara hajimeru no, sonna koto.) あとは (ato wa), if somebody takes you out a day before and if you want to send a thank you email, in that email you can say 昨日は、お寿司、ごちそうさまでした (kinō wa, o-sushi, gochisō-sama deshita).
Peter: If you put the particles in, how will it sound?
Naomi: 昨日は、お寿司を、ごちそうさまでした。(Kinō wa, o-sushi o, gochisō-sama deshita.)
Peter: Okay, let’s take a look at today’s grammar point. Naomi Sensei.

Lesson focus

Naomi: Today’s grammar point is すぎる (sugiru).
Peter: Now this is a verb that means to exceed, surpass. When it’s used as an auxiliary verb meaning when it’s attached to the masu-stem of a verb or the root of adjectives, it implies that something has been done too excessively or too much. So as we mentioned, this attaches to the masu-stem of verbs and the root of adjectives. So Naomi-sensei, what do we have in today’s conversation?
Naomi: 食べすぎた (tabesugita)
Peter: To eat too much. Now this is the plain past 食べすぎた (tabesugita). What is the root verb here?
Naomi: 食べる (taberu)
Peter: Now what’s the masu-stem of this?
Naomi: 食べます - 食べ (tabemasu - tabe)
Peter: We drop the る (ru) to get the masu-stem. Then to the masu-stem 食べ (tabe), we attach
Naomi: すぎる (sugiru)
Peter: To get 食べすぎる (tabesugiru), to eat too much and then we have the plain past in today’s conversation which was
Naomi: 食べすぎた (tabesugita)
Peter: And the subject was…
Naomi: お前 (omae)
Peter: Which is a very, very casual way to refer to the second person singular you. I rarely ever use this. I can’t even recall the last time I did but that’s not to say that people who talk in very casual Japanese but they are good friends, No. I just rarely used it.
Naomi: ゆういちさん使いますか、「お前」。(Yūichi-san tsukaimasu ka, “omae”.)
Yūichi: With very close friends, ですね (desu ne).
Naomi: ですよね。(Desu yo ne.)
Peter: すごい、にこにこしながら。(Sugoi, nikoniko shinagara.) Here is like smiling. Just good friends. いつも使ってるね。(Itsumo tsukatte ru ne.)
Yūichi: No way, it’s very rude. Yeah.
Naomi: But if you are good friends, it’s okay to use it but be careful. Some people might not like it.
Peter: Okay, so let’s have an example with an adjective.
Naomi: It doesn’t appear in the lesson but 高すぎる (takasugiru).
Peter: Too expensive. Now what we have here is an i-adjective. So what is your original i-adjective?
Naomi: 高い (takai)
Peter: And we say i-adjective because it ends in 高い (takai), okay. Now we want to get to the root of this adjective. So we drop the い (i) and get…
Naomi: たか (taka)
Peter: And then we add…
Naomi: すぎる (sugiru)
Peter: To get
Naomi: 高すぎる (takasugiru)
Peter: Too expensive. So we have covered a verb, we covered an i-adjective and let’s just put in a na-adjective to kind of finish things off.
Naomi: 静かすぎる (shizukasugiru)
Peter: Too quiet. Kind of like eerie, like you know right before someone gets whacked in the horror movie, it’s too quiet.
Naomi: この間ピーターに、私言われた。(Kono aida Pītā ni, watashi iwareta.) What’s wrong with you, Naomi? You are too quiet.
Yūichi: Yeah..
Naomi: 今日ちょっと静かすぎるけど、どうしたの?(Kyō chotto shizukasugiru kedo, dōshita no?)
Peter: I thought she was going to do something.
Naomi: Yes, because I had a hay fever.
Peter: Yeah, that was great. So let’s talk about construction here. What is the construction? What’s the original noun?
Naomi: 静か (shizuka)
Peter: Quiet and then to get too quiet.
Naomi: 静かすぎる (shizukasugiru)
Peter: So na-adjectives are actually the easiest. You append すぎる (sugiru) right to the noun. That’s it. You don’t have to drop anything, append it right to the noun.

Outro

Peter: Now inside today’s PDF, there is a detailed write up on forming – on using すぎる (sugiru) with na-adjectives, i- adjectives and the different classes of verbs. We didn’t go through those. So definitely stop by. Alright, that’s going to do it for today.
Naomi: じゃあ、また。(Jā, mata.)
Peter: さよなら。(Sayonara.)

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