Dialogue

Vocabulary

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Naomi: なおみです。(Naomi desu.)
Peter: Peter here. Kinoshita in the computer department Part 3.
Naomi: 電気屋さんの木下さん。(Denkiya-san no Kinoshita-san.)
Peter: So we are back recapping of course the previous two lessons. Kinoshita went to the department store and he met well, what could we say about the sales person?
Naomi: うさんくさい店員さんですね。(Usankusai ten’in-san desu ne.)
Peter: And what does this mean?
Naomi: Shady?
Peter: Shady? Something not quite right.
Naomi: Yeah, a bit stinks.
Peter: We are going to look at that in a better detail later in the lesson but yeah this is kind of shady shop clerk. Now of course, this conversation is taking place in the computer department of a department store.
Naomi: そう、電気屋さんですね。(Sō, denkiya-san desu ne.) Or 電気店 (denkiten).
Peter: The conversation is between
Naomi: うさんくさい店員さんと、木下さんです。(Usankusai ten’in-san to, Kinoshita-san desu.)
Peter: Shady shop clerk and Kinoshita. Now regarding the level, we call these Beginner lessons but Naomi-sensei, ちょっとですね (chotto desu ne.)
Naomi: I don’t think the grammar point belongs to Beginner’s level.
Peter: We could call it the really kind of borderline.
Naomi: Upper… Upper, yeah, advanced beginner?
Peter: It’s quite advanced but again this is built off season 2 and season 1. So if you look at it in that respect, it kind of makes sense that the beginner level gets progressively difficult but just to kind of put your mind at ease, if you are not getting over this, don’t worry. These are very advanced beginner lessons if that makes sense. Okay, let’s take a listen to what’s going on today’s conversation. Now tech savvy people rejoice because we have another lesson full of tech savvy terms.
Naomi: え~、本当?(Ē, hontō?)
Peter: Yep.
Naomi: あの、なつこさんを呼んでください、その時は。(Ano, Natsuko-san o yonde kudasai, sono toki wa.)
Peter: Well, Natsuko-san is just going to have to listen like everybody else for this lesson. So without further adieu, here we go.
DIALOGUE
店員 (ten’in) : お客様、こちらでございます。私が、お荷物をレジまで運びますので。。。(O-kyaku-sama, kochira de gozaimasu. Watakushi ga, o-nimotsu o reji made hakobimasu node…)
木ノ下 (Kinoshita) : はぁ。。。(Hā…)
店員 (ten’in) : あああっと!!ウェブカメラでございます!!!これなら、8ポートUSBハブに絶対に合いますよ! (Ātto!! Webu kamera de gozaimasu!!! Kore nara, hachi pōto yūesubī habu ni zettai ni aimasu yo!)
木ノ下 (Kinoshita) : んんんん。。。(Nnnnn…)
レジにて (reji ni te)
店員 (ten’in) : お客様、ポイントカードはお持ちですか。(O-kyaku-sama, pointo kādo wa o-mochi desu ka.)
木ノ下 (Kinoshita) : はい、今日はポイントカード使いたいんですけど。(Hai, kyō wa pointo kādo tsukaitai n desu kedo.)
店員 (ten’in) : はうあっ!!!お客様、驚きました!今日のポイントと今までのポイントを足しますと、本日の価格はとってもお安くなります。(Haua!!! O-kyaku-sama, odorokimashita! Kyō no pointo to ima made no pointo o tashimasu to, honjitsu no kakaku wa tottemo o-yasuku narimasu.)
店員 (ten’in) : 私がいままで見たお客様の中で、一番の買い物上手ですよ。(Watakushi ga ima made mita o-kyaku-sama no naka de, ichi-ban no kaimono jōzu desu yo.)
木ノ下 (Kinoshita) : え、本当に???(うれしそうに) (E, hontō ni??? (ureshisō ni))
店員 (ten’in) : 私はウソなど申しません!!!それでは、お買い上げありがとうございました!(Watakushi wa uso nado mōshimasen!!! Soredewa, o-kaiage arigatō gozaimashita!)
Naomi: 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.)
店員 (ten’in) : お客様、こちらでございます。私が、お荷物をレジまで運びますので。。。(O-kyaku-sama, kochira de gozaimasu. Watakushi ga, o-nimotsu o reji made hakobimasu node…)
木ノ下 (Kinoshita) : はぁ。。。(Hā…)
店員 (ten’in) : あああっ!!ウェブカメラでございます!!!これなら、8ポートUSBハブに絶対に合いますよ! (Ā!! Webu kamera de gozaimasu!!! Kore nara, hachi pōto yūesubī habu ni zettai ni aimasu yo!)
木ノ下 (Kinoshita) : んんんん。。。(Nnnnn…)
レジにて (reji ni te)
店員 (ten’in) : お客様、ポイントカードはお持ちですか。(O-kyaku-sama, pointo kādo wa o-mochi desu ka.)
木ノ下 (Kinoshita) : はい、今日はポイントカード使いたいんですけど。(Hai, kyō wa pointo kādo tsukaitai n desu kedo.)
店員 (ten’in) : はうあっ!!!お客様、驚きました!今日のポイントと今までのポイントを足しますと、本日の価格はとてもお安くなります。(Haua!!! O-kyaku-sama, odorokimashita! Kyō no pointo to ima made no pointo o tashimasu to, honjitsu no kakaku wa totemo o-yasuku narimasu.)
店員 (ten’in) : 私がいままで見たお客様の中で、一番の買い物上手ですよ。(Watakushi ga ima made mita o-kyaku-sama no naka de, ichi-ban no kaimono jōzu desu yo.)
木ノ下 (Kinoshita) : え、本当に???(うれしそうに) (E, hontō ni??? (ureshisō ni))
店員 (ten’in) : 私はウソなど申しません!!!それでは、お買い上げありがとうございました!(Watakushi wa uso nado mōshimasen!!! Soredewa, o-kaiage arigatō gozaimashita!)
Naomi: 今度は、英語が入ります。(Kondo wa, Eigo ga hairimasu.)
店員 (ten’in) : お客様、こちらでございます。わたくしが、お荷物をレジまで運びますので。。。(O-kyaku-sama, kochira de gozaimasu. Watakushi ga, o-nimotsu o reji made hakobimasu node…)
CLERK: Sir, this way please. I will carry your items to the register.
木ノ下 (Kinoshita) : はぁ。。。(Hā…)
KINOSHITA: Um....
店員 (ten’in) : あああっと!!ウェブカメラでございます!!!これなら、8ポートUSBハブに絶対に合いますよ! (Ātto!! Webu kamera de gozaimasu!!! Kore nara, hachi pōto yūesubī habu ni zettai ni aimasu yo!)
CLERK: Aaaahh! It's a web-cam!!! This will definitely go together well with the 8-port USB hub!
木ノ下 (Kinoshita) : んんんん。。。(Nnnnn…)
KINOSHITA: Ermmmm......
店員 (ten’in) : お客様、ポイントカードはお持ちですか。(O-kyaku-sama, pointo kādo wa o-mochi desu ka.)
CLERK: Sir, do you have your point card with you?
木ノ下 (Kinoshita) : はい、今日はポイントカード使いたいんですけど。(Hai, kyō wa pointo kādo tsukaitai n desu kedo.)
KINOSHITA: Yes, I would like to use my points.
店員 (ten’in) : お客様、驚きました!今日のポイントと今までのポイントを足しますと、本日の価格はとってもお安くなります。(O-kyaku-sama, odorokimashita! Kyō no pointo to ima made no pointo o tashimasu to, honjitsu no kakaku wa tottemo o-yasuku narimasu.)
CLERK: Oh my gosh! Sir, I am very impressed! If you add today's points, and the points you have accumulated up to now, today's purchase will be very cheap.
店員 (ten’in) : 私がいままで見たお客様の中で、一番の買い物上手ですよ。(Watakushi ga ima made mita o-kyaku-sama no naka de, ichi-ban no kaimono jōzu desu yo.)
CLERK: You, sir, are the best shopper I have ever seen!
木ノ下 (Kinoshita) : え、本当に???(うれしそうに) (E, hontō ni??? (ureshisō ni))
KINOSHITA: (happily) Really???
店員 (ten’in) : 私はウソなど申しません!!!それでは、お買い上げありがとうございました!(Watakushi wa uso nado mōshimasen!!! Soredewa, o-kaiage arigatō gozaimashita!)
CLERKS: Sir, I don't tell lies!!! Thank you so much for your purchase!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Peter: なおみ先生、いかがでしたか。(Naomi-sensei, ikaga deshita ka.) How was it?
Naomi: やっぱりインチキくさいです。(Yappari inchiki kusai desu.)
Peter: So just as you thought, shady salesman.
Naomi: 全部うさんくさいですね。(Zenbu usankusai desu ne.) For example, he said 私はウソなど申しません (watashi wa uso nado mōshimasen). He is already telling a lie.
Peter: Well what did he say in the first place. I don’t lie, I wouldn’t dare a lie.
Naomi: And he said, お客様、驚きました (o-kyaku-sama, odorokimashita), sir I am so surprised. Such an overreaction.
Peter: I kind of like overreactions. でもなんとなくわかります。(Demo nantonaku wakarimasu.) I can understand what you are talking about but again I kind of think this person’s good at what he does.
Naomi: And the polite expressions used in that dialogue is pretty useful in daily life.
Peter: Definitely agree although they are very advanced grammatically, they are used so often that it’s really good that we are introducing them here. So in that respect, it is kind of like a beginner's lesson.
Naomi: 特に高いお店でよく聞きます。(Toku ni takai o-mise de yoku kikimasu.)
Peter: In an expensive shop.
VOCAB LIST
Peter: Okay, let’s take a quick look at the vocab. Naomi-sensei, what do we have first?
Naomi: 荷物 (nimotsu)
Peter: Luggage, baggage.
Naomi: (slow) にもつ (nimotsu) (natural speed) 荷物 (nimotsu)
Peter: Next.
Naomi: レジ (reji)
Peter: Register.
Naomi: (slow) レジ (reji) (natural speed) レジ (reji)
Peter: Followed by
Naomi: ウェブカメラ (webu kamera)
Peter: Web camera. Webcam.
Naomi: (slow) ウェブカメラ (webu kamera) (natural speed) ウェブカメラ (webu kamera)
Peter: Time for my pronunciation attempt, ウェブキャメラ (webu kamera).
Naomi: う〜ん。。。(Ūn…)
Peter: ダメですね。(Dame desu ne.)
Naomi: もう一回言ってみましょうか。(Mō ikkai itte mimashō ka.)
Peter: ウェブキャメラ (webu kyamera)
Naomi: キャじゃなくてね、カ。(Kya ja nakute ne, ka.)
Peter: これ、難しいですね。ウェブカメラ。(Kore, muzukashii desu ne. Webu kamera.)
Naomi: Um, better.
Peter: カメラ。(Kamera.)
Naomi: そうそう、そうそう。(Sō so, sō sō.)
Peter: カメラ。(Kamera.)
Naomi: そうそう。(Sō so.)
Peter: はい、わかりました。次、お願いします。(Hai, wakarimashita. Tsugi, onegai shimasu.) Next, please.
Naomi: ポート (pōto)
Peter: Port.
Naomi: (slow) ポート (pōto) (natural speed) ポート (pōto)
Peter: Next.
Naomi: ハブ (habu)
Peter: Hub.
Naomi: (slow) ハブ (habu) (natural speed) ハブ (habu)
Peter: Followed by
Naomi: ポイントカード (pointo kādo)
Peter: Point card.
Naomi: (slow) ポイントカード (pointo kādo) (natural speed) ポイントカード (pointo kādo)
Peter: Followed by
Naomi: 足す (tasu)
Peter: To add.
Naomi: (slow) たす (tasu) (natural speed) 足す (tasu)
Peter: Followed by
Naomi: 買い物上手 (kaimono jōzu)
Peter: Good shopper.
Naomi: (slow) かいものじょうず (kaimono jōzu) (natural speed) 買い物上手 (kaimono jōzu)
Peter: Followed by
Naomi: お買い上げ (o-kaiage)
Peter: Purchase.
Naomi: (slow) おかいあげ (o-kaiage) (natural speed) お買い上げ (o-kaiage)
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Peter: Now there are few terms in here I really want to take a look at.
Naomi: なんでしょう。(Nan deshō.) I hope they are not computer terms.
Peter: They are. The first one is ハブ (habu).
Naomi: 何?ハブって?(Nani? Habu tte?)
Peter: Hub it’s a…
Naomi: Is it a snake? There is a snake called ハブ (habu) in Okinawa.
Peter: That’s what I wanted to ask. Is the pitch accent different on that?
Naomi: I don’t know. I know the pronunciation of ハブ (habu) for like snake but not sure about the computer term.
Peter: So you would leave with a computer and a snake.
Naomi: そうね、そうです。(Sō ne, sō desu.) ハブ。(Habu)
Peter: ハブ。(Habu.)
Naomi: そうそう。(Sō so.)
Peter: This might be ハブ (habu) because this is a piece of equipment that you can put a bunch of connections into so that everything becomes interconnected.
Naomi: I am not sure ハブ (habu). あ、ハブって言いますね、ハブ。ごめん、間違えちゃった。(A, habu tte iimasu ne, habu. Gomen, machigaechatta.)
Peter: 正しかったですか、私は。(Tadashikatta desu ka, watashi wa.)
Naomi: そうですね、じゃ、ハブ はsnake。(Sō desu ne, ja, habu wa “snake.”)
Peter: Going down is the snake ハブ (habu).
Naomi: ハブ。(Habu.)
Peter: Going up is for the hub, ハブ (habu).
Naomi: Wait, I think people use both ハブ (habu) and ハブ (habu).
Peter: So we are both right.
Naomi: はい。あー、よかったよかった。よかった~!(Hai. Ā, yokatta yokatta. Yokattā!)
Peter: 残念です。 (Zannen desu.) Okay, next word is good shopper.
Naomi: 買い物上手 (kaimono jōzu)
Peter: And literally shopping good at.
Naomi: そうですね (sō desu ne), of course it means 買い物が上手、です (kaimono ga jōzu, desu).
Peter: But the が (ga) is dropped from the expression.
Naomi: If someone is good at cooking, you can call that person, 料理上手 (ryōri jōzu).
Peter: Good at cooking.
Naomi: So Peter-san 話し上手 (hanashijōzu) would be
Peter: Good at speaking.
Naomi: So someone who is good at speaking. 聞き上手 (kikijōzu) is the person
Peter: Good at listening.
Naomi: そうです。(Sō desu.)
Peter: And this doesn’t work for everything, does it? 食べ上手 (tabejōzu), like good at eating?
Naomi: まぁ (mā), depends on – good at eating, what does it mean?
Peter: I think it’s a politically correct way to say someone eats a lot.
Naomi: I don’t know about that.
Peter: 食べ上手ですね。(Tabejōzu desu ne.)
Naomi: Wow you eat a lot.
Peter: What about – it could mean that you eat very nicely like you know, you don’t splash stuff all over the table like me.
Naomi: 食べるのが、上手ですね。(Taberu no ga, jōzu desu ne.)
Peter: So this doesn’t work for every case but there are certain expressions that are being used over and over so many times that they have become part of the Japanese lexicon and we gave you several. One more time, good at shopping?
Naomi: 買い物上手 (kaimono jōzu)
Peter: Good at cooking.
Naomi: 料理上手 (ryōri jōzu)
Peter: Good at talking.
Naomi: 話し上手 (hanashijōzu)
Peter: Good at listening.
Naomi: 聞き上手 (kikijōzu)

Lesson focus

Peter: Okay, on to today’s grammar point. Today we are looking at a very interesting grammar point. Comparatives.
Naomi: 一番。(Ichi-ban.)
Peter: The best. So it’s kind of I guess we can equate this to superlatives in English. Okay, so when we compare two things, we use construction.
Naomi: より (yori)
Peter: AはBより。(Ē wa bī yori.) So A is more than B.
Naomi: Or のほうが (no hō ga). I don’t want to confuse the listeners but…
Peter: You just did.
Naomi: あ、ごめんね。(A, gomen ne.)
Peter: But this expression..
Naomi: ~の中で、一番 (〜 no naka de, ichi-ban)
Peter: Out of these, something, something is the best. It’s basically a set phrase used when comparing three or more items. Now of course 一番 (ichi-ban) means No 1 and here it acts as a superlative meaning most or -est.
Naomi: あ、そうですね。(A, sō desu ne.)
Peter: The most beautiful.
Naomi: 一番きれい。(Ichi-ban kirei.)
Peter: The fastest.
Naomi: 一番速い。(Ichi-ban hayai.)
Peter: So we have 一番 (ichi-ban) which makes a part of the expression. What do we have preceding that?
Naomi: ~の中で (〜 no naka de)
Peter: We have the particle の (no), followed by 中 (naka)
Naomi: Inside.
Peter: So you can think of it as inside of these things, and then we use the particle で (de). This doesn’t change. の中で (no naka de) Inside of these things, something, something 一番 (ichi-ban) is the best, most, -est.
Naomi: 家族の中で一番おもしろい。(Kazoku no naka de ichi-ban omoshiroi.)
Peter: The most funny person in the family. Let’s just break this down and first we have…
Naomi: 家族 (kazoku)
Peter: Family.
Naomi: の (no)
Peter: Particle の (no)
Naomi: 中で (naka de)
Peter: Inside. So family inside, inside of family.
Naomi: で (de)
Peter: And here we have the particle marking this. Inside of the family.
Naomi: 一番 (ichi-ban)
Peter: Most.
Naomi: おもしろい (omoshiroi)
Peter: Interesting. Inside of the family, the most interesting, funniest person in the family.
Naomi: 会社の中で、一番忙しい。(Kaisha no naka de, ichi-ban isogashii.)
Peter: The busiest person in the company.
Naomi: That’s you, Peter-san.
Peter: 最近 (saikin), that’s you, Naomi-sensei.
Naomi: ま、そうですね。(Ma, sō desu ne.)
Peter: Let’s just take a quick look here. So first we have the group in which we are doing the comparison. In the first example, it was family, 家族 (kazoku).
Naomi: はい。(Hai.)
Peter: And in this one, it was the company, 会社 (kaisha). The noun is followed by
Naomi: の (no)
Peter: Which is followed by
Naomi: 中 (naka)
Peter: And then we have
Naomi: で (de)
Peter: So noun plus の中で (no naka de) and we translate this as inside of or out of that noun. Out of all the people in the family, out of all the people in the company. Then this is followed by…
Naomi: 一番 (ichi-ban)
Peter: Which here is acting as a superlative meaning either -est or most. 一番 (ichi-ban) is followed by
Naomi: Adjective.
Peter: Completing the comparison. In the first one we had most funny, 一番おもしろい (ichi-ban omoshiroi) and in the second one we had
Naomi: 一番忙しい (ichi-ban isogashii)
Peter: The busiest. Okay where did this appear in today’s conversation?
Naomi: 私が今まで見たお客様の中で、一番の買い物上手ですよ。(Watashi ga ima made mita o-kyaku-sama no naka de, ichi-ban no kaimono jōzu desu yo.)
Peter: You are the best shopper out of all the customers I have ever met. いいですね。(Ii desu ne.)
Naomi: 私が今まで見た人の中で、一番忙しい人ですよ、ピーターさん。(Watashi ga ima made mita hito no naka de, ichi-ban isogashii hito desu yo, Pītā-san.)
Peter: Okay, let’s put that aside for a minute and let’s take a look at this, Naomi-sensei. 私が今まで見た人の中で、一番暇です。(Watashi ga ima made mita hito no naka de, ichi-ban hima desu.)
Naomi: え、私が?(E, watashi ga?)
Peter: You are like the person with the least amount of duty among anyone I have ever met.
Naomi: あの、暇は na-adjective で free だけど、have nothing to do っていう感じだよね。(Ano, hima wa “na-adjective” de “free” da kedo, “have nothing to do” tte iu kanji da yo ne.)
Peter: Yeah.
Naomi: え?(E?)
Peter: You are the most free person.
Naomi: Free spirit とかじゃなくて?(”Free spirit” toka ja nakute?)
Peter: Of course it is a joke. Oh yeah, let’s break this out. Let’s analyze this. Okay first we have
Naomi: 私が (watashi ga)
Peter: I, marked by a が (ga) particle.
Naomi: 今まで (ima made)
Peter: Up to now, now until. Up to now.
Naomi: 見た (mita)
Peter: Saw.
Naomi: お客様 (o-kyaku-sama)
Peter: Customer, stop there. Now this whole expression 私が今まで見た (watashi ga ima made mita), this is modifying お客様 (o-kyaku-sama). So you want to think about it this way. Of the customers I have met, of the customers I have served up until now. Again we want a superlative here. Customer is a noun. We follow it with
Naomi: の (no)
Peter: Followed by
Naomi: 中 (naka)
Peter: And then the particle
Naomi: で (de)
Peter: And now we have “out of” and it’s almost like working backwards. Out of the customers I have met to date, out of the customers I have met up until now, then we have our superlative
Naomi: 一番の (ichi-ban no)
Peter: The most.
Naomi: 買い物上手 (kaimono jōzu)
Peter: The most skilled shopper, the most shopping good at..
Naomi: Since 買い物上手 (kaimono jōzu) is a noun, you need の (no) after 一番 (ichi-ban).
Peter: And actually you probably want to drop everything and focus on the 上手 (jōzu). It’s really 一番上手 (ichi-ban jōzu) and the other things are explaining the 上手 (jōzu). So best at 一番上手 (ichi-ban jōzu), best at and of course here shopping. Okay, much more detailed explanation in today’s PDF. Please pick up today’s PDF. It is really well written plus all the information you have to bring this important topic together.
Naomi: Speaking of 一番 (ichi-ban), have you ever seen 一番 (ichi-ban) T-Shirt?
Peter: Yes, I have.
Naomi: 浅草でよく見ますよね。(Asakusa de yoku mimasu yo ne.)
Peter: So they have these big T-Shirts with 一番 (ichi-ban).
Naomi: そうね。(Sō ne.)
Peter: I am number one.
Naomi: I have never seen Japanese people wearing that T-Shirt.
Peter: Yeah, just a foreign thing.
Naomi: Kind of cute though. I will give you 一番 (ichi-ban) T-Shirt.
Peter: And I am going to get you the はちまき (hachimaki).
Naomi: はちまきは何? (Hachimaki wa nani?) How do you call はちまき (hachimaki)?
Peter: はちまき。(Hachimaki.) It’s a Bandana.
Naomi: Bandana, yeah right.
Peter: So you can wear that on the subway, I’m No.1
Naomi: No.1 on the head.

Outro

Peter: Okay, that’s going to do it for today. Stop by the site, any questions or anything we could do for you. Stop by and say hi. That’s going to do it for today.

Kanji

Review & Remember All Kanji from this Lesson

Get complete breakdowns, review with quizzes and download printable practice sheets! Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Combo

Comments

Hide