Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Naomi: 直美です。 (Naomidesu.)
Peter: Peter here. Able-bodied Japanese. In this lesson, we will learn how to express possibility or ability. For example, I can drive a car.
Naomi: 私は車が運転できます。 (Watashi wa kuruma ga unten dekimasu.)
Peter: This conversation takes place at
Naomi: 会社です。 (Kaishadesu.)
Peter: An office. The conversation is between
Naomi: 下山新さんと上司。 (Shimoyama Shin-san to jōshi.)
Peter: Mr. Shin Shimoyama and his boss. The boss uses informal Japanese and Mr. Shimoyama uses
Naomi: Formal Japanese.
DIALOGUE
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): はい、下山です。 (Hai, Shimoyama desu.)
上司 (Jōshi): 前田です。お疲れ様。 (Maeda desu. O-tsukare sama.)
下山君、今からちょっと出られる? (Shimoyama-kun, ima kara chotto derareru?)
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): ええ...まぁ。でも、どうしてですか。 (Ē... mā. Demo, dō shite desu ka.)
上司 (Jōshi): 昼飯食べに行かない?おごるよ。 (Hirumeshi tabe ni ikanai? Ogoru yo.)
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): お!めずらしい!ごちそう様です。 (O! Mezurashii! Gochisō-sama desu.)
上司 (Jōshi): 辛いものは食べられる? (Karai mono wa taberareru?)
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): ええ、食べれます。 (Ē, taberemasu.)
上司 (Jōshi): じゃ、食べ放題の韓国料理屋に行こう。 (Ja, tabehōdai no kankoku ryōri-ya ni ikō.) じゃ、十五分後にロビーに来られる? (Ja, jūgo-fun go ni robī ni korareru?)
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): はい。行けます。じゃ、十五分後に。 (Hai. Ikemasu. Ja, jūgo-fun go ni.)
もう一度、お願いします。今度は、ゆっくりお願いします。 (Mōichido, onegaishimasu. Kondo wa, yukkuri onegaishimasu.)
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): はい、下山です。 (Hai, Shimoyama desu.)
上司 (Jōshi): 前田です。お疲れ様。 (Maeda desu. O-tsukare sama.)
下山君、今からちょっと出られる? (Shimoyama-kun, ima kara chotto derareru?)
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): ええ...まぁ。でも、どうしてですか。 (Ē... mā. Demo, dō shite desu ka.)
上司 (Jōshi): 昼飯食べに行かない?おごるよ。 (Hirumeshi tabe ni ikanai? Ogoru yo.)
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): お!めずらしい!ごちそう様です。 (O! Mezurashii! Gochisō-sama desu.)
上司 (Jōshi): 辛いものは食べられる? (Karai mono wa taberareru?)
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): ええ、食べれます。 (Ē, taberemasu.)
上司 (Jōshi): じゃ、食べ放題の韓国料理屋に行こう。 (Ja, tabehōdai no kankoku ryōri-ya ni ikō.) じゃ、十五分後にロビーに来られる? (Ja, jūgo-fun go ni robī ni korareru?)
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): はい。行けます。じゃ、十五分後に。 (Hai. Ikemasu. Ja, jūgo-fun go ni.)
今度は、英語が入ります。 (Kondo wa, eigo ga hairimasu.)
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): はい、下山です。 (Hai, Shimoyama desu.)
SHIN SHIMOYAMA :Hello, Shimoyama here.
上司 (Jōshi): 前田です。お疲れ様。 (Maeda desu. O-tsukare sama.) 下山君、今からちょっと出られる? (Shimoyama-kun, ima kara chotto derareru?)
SUPERIOR : This is Maeda. Can you come out for a moment Shimoyama?
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): ええ...まぁ。でも、どうしてですか。 (Ē... mā. Demo, dō shite desu ka.)
SHIN SHIMOYAMA :Uh well... Sure. But what is this about?
上司 (Jōshi): 昼飯食べに行かない?おごるよ。 (Hirumeshi tabe ni ikanai? Ogoru yo.)
SUPERIOR : Why don't we go out for lunch? My treat.
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): お!めずらしい!ごちそう様です。 (O! Mezurashii! Gochisō-sama desu.)
SHIN SHIMOYAMA :Wow! Well this is unusual! Thank you.
上司 (Jōshi): 辛いものは食べられる? (Karai mono wa taberareru?)
SUPERIOR : Can you eat spicy foods?
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): ええ、食べれます。 (Ē, taberemasu.)
SHIN SHIMOYAMA :Sure I can.
上司 (Jōshi): じゃ、食べ放題の韓国料理屋に行こう。 (Ja, tabehōdai no kankoku ryōri-ya ni ikō.)
SUPERIOR : Alright, then let's go to the all you can eat Korean place.
じゃ、十五分後にロビーに来られる? (Ja, jūgo-fun go ni robī ni korareru?)
Can you meet me in the lobby in 15 minutes?
下山 新 (Shimoyama Shin): はい。行けます。じゃ、十五分後に。 (Hai. Ikemasu. Ja, jūgo-fun go ni.)
SHIN SHIMOYAMA :Yes, that should be fine. Alright, I'll see you in 15 minutes.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Naomi: この二人、仲がいいでしょうね。 (Kono ni-ri, nakagaīdeshou ne.)
Peter: So they must have a good relationship. え、どうして? (E, dōshite?) Why do you think so?
Naomi: だって下山さん (Datte Shimoyama-san) said, お、珍しい。ごちそうさまです。 (O, mezurashī. Gochisōsamadesu.)
Peter: You are going to buy me lunch. It’s not like you. Thank you very much. Actually ごちそうさま (Gochisōsama) is a really good phrase especially when you want someone to pay your bill.
Naomi: そうそうそう。 (Sō sō sō.) Put the bill away. あ、ピーターさん、ごちそうさまです。 (A, pītā-san, gochisōsamadesu.)
Peter: So you are saying, ah Peter, thanks for the meal.
Naomi: そうそうそう。 (Sō sō sō.)
Peter: So you are kind of hinting at me to pay for the meal or you could be more direct and say, おごってください。 (O go tte kudasai.)
Naomi: ああ、慣れてますね。 (Ā, naretemasu ne.) Sounds like you use that phrase quite often.
Peter: Yeah when I was a student especially.
Naomi: おごってください。先輩! (O go tte kudasai. Senpai!)
Peter: で、直美先生もよく使いますね。 (De, Naomi sensei mo yoku tsukaimasu ne.)
Naomi: いや、これね、使わないです。 (Iya, kore ne, tsukawanaidesu.)
Peter: え~ごちそうさま。 (E ~ gochisōsama.) I have heard you say it several times with me.
Naomi: ああ、そうそうそう。 (Ā, sō sō sō.) I use ごちそうさま (Gochisōsama) quite a lot but not おごってください。絶対言わないです。おごってくださいは。 (O go tte kudasai. Zettai iwanaidesu. O go tte kudasai wa.) I never say おごってください (O go tte kudasai) because it’s too direct.
Peter: Yes Naomi Sensei prefers more indirect ways like ごちそうさま (Gochisōsama) or her favorite line is 財布忘れました。 (Saifu wasuremashita.) I forgot my wallet. That’s a pretty good one too.
Naomi: そうね。私たまに使いますね。 (Sō ne. Watashi tamani tsukaimasu ne.)
Peter: 多分、よく… (Tabun, yoku…) Not once in a while. Okay on to the vocabulary for this lesson.
VOCAB LIST
Peter: First word.
Naomi: 珍しい (mezurashii)
Peter: Unusual, rare.
Naomi: (slow)めずらしい (Mezurashī) (natural speed) 珍しい (mezurashii)
Peter: Next.
Naomi: ごちそうさま (Gochisōsama)
Peter: I really enjoyed the meal, thank you for the meal.
Naomi: (slow)ごちそうさま (Gochisōsama) (natural speed) ごちそうさま (Gochisōsama)
Peter: Next.
Naomi: 辛い (karai)
Peter: Hot, spicy.
Naomi: (slow)からい (Karai) (natural speed) 辛い (karai)
Peter: Next.
Naomi: 食べ放題 (tabe hōdai)
Peter: All you can eat.
Naomi: (slow)たべほうだい (Tabehōdai) (natural speed) 食べ放題 (tabe hōdai)
Peter: Next.
Naomi: 15分後 (fun-go)
Peter: In 50 minutes, 50 minutes later.
Naomi: (slow)じゅうごふんご (Ji ~yuugofungo) (natural speed) 15分後 (fun-go)
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Peter: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. Naomi sensei, what’s the first word we will look at?
Naomi: 辛い (Tsurai)
Peter: Spicy, hot.
Naomi: This kanji can be read as つらい (Tsurai) painful or tough.
Peter: So you need to decide the meaning from the context.
Naomi: そうですね。 (Sōdesu ne.) And I like to introduce some flavor related vocab.
Peter: Okay flavor related vocab.
Naomi: 甘い (Amai)
Peter: Sweet.
Naomi: 辛い (Tsurai)
Peter: Spicy.
Naomi: しょっぱい (Shoppai)
Peter: Salty.
Naomi: 苦い (Nigai)
Peter: Bitter.
Naomi: すっぱい (Suppai)
Peter: Sour.
Naomi: そうですね。 (Sōdesu ne.) Some people might say 塩辛い (Shiokarai) instead of しょっぱい (Shoppai).
Peter: Really?
Naomi: I never use 塩辛い (Shiokarai) but I think people from different area use different vocab. So…
Peter: 私は聞いたことないです。 (Watashi wa kiita koto naidesu.) I have never heard of it.
Naomi: 東京の人は使わないかもしれないですね。 (Tōkyō no hito wa tsukawanai kamo shirenaidesu ne.)
Peter: So most likely people in Tokyo don’t use this phrase.
Naomi: 韓国料理は辛いですよね。 (Kankokuryōri wa tsuraidesu yo ne.)
Peter: Korean food is quite spicy.
Naomi: コーヒーは? (Kōhī wa?)
Peter: 苦いですね。(Nigaidesu ne.)
Naomi: 苦いですね。 (Nigaidesu ne.)
Peter: It’s bitter.
Naomi: アメリカのケーキは? (Amerika no kēki wa?)
Peter: 甘いですね。 (Amaidesu ne.) Very sweet. ものすごく甘いですね。 (Monosugoku amaidesu ne.) very – super sweet.
Naomi: It’s almost 甘すぎます (Ama sugimasu) for me.
Peter: So too sweet for you.
Naomi: うん。時々ね。 (Un. Tokidoki ne.) Sometimes.
Peter: Okay next we have a phrase.
Naomi: 15分後 (Pungo)
Peter: 15 minutes later or in 15 minutes.
Naomi: 15分 (Bun)
Peter: The first part of this means 15 minutes.
Naomi: 後 (Ato)
Peter: Means later. So when we attach 後 (Ato) to the end of a period of time, it means after that.
Naomi: So an hour is 1時間 (Jikan) So 1時間後 (Jikan-go) would be
Peter: In an hour. How would you say a week later?
Naomi: A week is 一週間 (Isshūkan). So 一週間後 (Isshūkan-go)
Peter: A week later. On to the grammar point.

Lesson focus

Peter: Next. In this lesson, we will learn how to express possibility and ability. In the last lesson, we learned how to do this with class 1 verbs. So in this lesson, we will be focusing on how to conjugate class 2 and class 3 verbs into their potential form. Potential of course just means can. Now Naomi Sensei, can we have a sample sentence from the dialogue?
Naomi: 辛いものは食べられる? (Karaimono wa tabe rareru?)
Peter: Can you eat spicy stuff?
Naomi: 辛い (Tsurai)
Peter: Spicy.
Naomi: もの (Mono)
Peter: Stuff.
Naomi: は (Wa)
Peter: Topic marking particle.
Naomi: 食べられる (Taberareru)
Peter: Literally to be able to eat. So literally we have spicy food, can you eat and of course it means, can you eat spicy food.
Naomi: 食べられる (Taberareru) means to be able to eat.
Peter: Now to form the potential of class 2 verbs, it’s very, very easy. Simply drop the る (Ru) and tack on られる (Rareru). I think the best way to illustrate this is with an example.
Naomi: はい。 (Hai.)
Peter: Naomi Sensei, can we have a class 2 verb.
Naomi: 食べる (Taberu) To eat.
Peter: Now we are going to drop the る (Ru)
Naomi: 食べ (Tabe)
Peter: Now it’s in its masu-stem. To the masu-stem, we are going to tack on
Naomi: られる (Rareru)
Peter: To get
Naomi: 食べられる (Taberareru)
Peter: To be able to eat.
Naomi: 私は辛いものが食べられる。 (Watashi wa tsurai mono ga tabe rareru.)
Peter: I can eat spicy food. Let’s have another example. What is the word for to quit.
Naomi: 止める (Tomeru)
Peter: Drop the る (Ru) to get the masu-stem. So drop the る (Ru), we have
Naomi: 止め (Tome)
Peter: Tack on.
Naomi: られる (Rareru)
Peter: And we have
Naomi: 止められる (Tomerareru)
Peter: So this means to be able to quit.
Naomi: お酒が止められる (O sake ga tomerareru)
Peter: I can quit drinking.
Naomi: タバコが止められる (Tabako ga tomerareru)
Peter: I can quit smoking.
Naomi: My friend is a chain smoker and he always says, 僕はいつでもタバコが止められる。(Boku wa itsu demo tabako ga tome rareru.)
Peter: So he always says, I can quit smoking any time.
Naomi: I don’t think so.
Peter: So Naomi Sensei, I often hear 食べれる (Tabereru) or 止めれる (Tome reru) instead of 食べられる (Taberareru) or 止められる (Tomerareru). What’s the main difference here? They are the same thing?
Naomi: Same thing. 両方とも正しいです。 (Ryōhō tomo tadashīdesu.) Both are correct. レッスンノートに載っているので、読んでください。 (Ressun'nōto ni notte irunode, yondekudasai.)
Peter: So please check out the PDF to kind of find out the difference but the short story is that it’s much easier to say and hence られる (Rareru) becomes れる (Reru).

Outro

Naomi: じゃあ、また。 (Jā, mata.)
Peter: See you later.

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