Learn how to greet someone in the office when you haven't seen them in a long time
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to JapanesePod101.com. This is Business Japanese for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 9 - Catching Up with a Japanese Co-worker. Eric here. |
| Natsuko: γγγ«γ‘γ―γ γͺγ€γγ§γγ |
| Eric: In this lesson, youβll learn how to greet someone when you haven't seen them for a long time. The conversation takes place in an office. |
| Natsuko: It's between Linda and Mr. Tanaka, who works for the same company as Linda, but in a different office. |
| Eric: The speakers are co-workers who are meeting after a long time, so theyβll be using formal Japanese, but it's not overly formal. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Linda: η°δΈγγγγδΉ γγΆγγ§γ |
| Tanaka: γͺγ³γγζ¬ε½γ«γγδΉ γγΆγγ§γγ |
| Linda: γε ζ°γ§γγγ |
| Tanaka: γ―γγγγγζ§γ§γγͺγ³γγ―οΌ |
| Linda: γ―γγη§γε ζ°γ§γγ |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Linda: η°δΈγγγγδΉ γγΆγγ§γ |
| Tanaka: γͺγ³γγζ¬ε½γ«γγδΉ γγΆγγ§γγ |
| Linda: γε ζ°γ§γγγ |
| Tanaka: γ―γγγγγζ§γ§γγͺγ³γγ―οΌ |
| Linda: γ―γγη§γε ζ°γ§γγ |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Linda: Hi Mr. Tanaka. Long time no see. How have you been? |
| Tanaka: Hi Linda. Yes indeed itβs been awhile since we met last time. |
| Linda: How are you? |
| Tanaka: Iβm very good. Thank you, how about you Linda? |
| Linda: Yes, Iβm great. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: Natsuko, I have a question. Why is Linda calling Mr. Tanaka γγͺγγγ his family name plus -san, while he calls her just Linda, without -san? Since they are co-workers, theyβre in the same social status, right? |
| Natsuko: Good question. I donβt have a clear answer, but I assume Linda said βPlease call me Lindaβ when they first met. |
| Eric: I see. But, in Japanese offices, people usually use their family name, right? |
| Natsuko: Thatβs right. It depends on the company culture, but we usually use our family name in business situations. |
| Eric: I see. So maybe because Linda is a foreigner, the name rule might not apply to her, or she might have asked her colleagues to call her by her first name. |
| I have another question. Iβve heard transfers between offices or branches happen a lot at Japanese companies, it that true? |
| Natsuko: Yes, definitely. At big companies, it happens quite often. Here are two vocab items for you. When someone is transferred to another section, it's called idΕ (η°ε). When someone is transferred to another branch or office, it's called tenkin (θ»’ε€). |
| Eric: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Eric: Letβs take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Natsuko: δΉ γγΆγ [natural native speed] |
| Eric: long time |
| Natsuko: δΉ γγΆγ[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: δΉ γγΆγ [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Natsuko: ζ¬ε½γ« [natural native speed] |
| Eric: really |
| Natsuko: ζ¬ε½γ«[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: ζ¬ε½γ« [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Natsuko: ε ζ° [natural native speed] |
| Eric: good, fine |
| Natsuko: ε ζ°[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: ε ζ° [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And last we have.. |
| Natsuko: γγγζ§γ§γ [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Thanks to you. Thanks for asking. |
| Natsuko: γγγζ§γ§γ[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: γγγζ§γ§γ [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. Our phrase for this lesson is... |
| Natsuko: γγγζ§γ§γ |
| Eric: which means βThanks to all of you.β Letβs break it down. |
| Natsuko: γ |
| Eric: an honorific prefix |
| Natsuko:γγ |
| Eric: meaning βShadeβ |
| Natsuko: γγΎ |
| Eric: an honorific suffix. |
| Natsuko:γ§ |
| Eric: a particle indicating a reason. Altogether, γγγγγΎγ§ means βhelp from other peopleβ. But you can translate it as βthanks to your helpβ or βthanks to all of you.β |
| Natsuko: You can say γγγγγΎγ§ to express your gratitude and respect for other people. |
| Eric: For example, when you are in a hospital and your doctor asks you βare you feeling better today?β, you can answer ... |
| Natsuko: γ―γγγγγζ§γ§ γ |
| Eric: which means βYes, I am feeling better, thanks to youβ. With this phrase, you are expressing gratitude for the doctor's help. If, for example, your friend visits you at the hospital, and asks you the same question, you can also use this phrase even if you don't get any direct help from that person. |
| Natsuko: γγγζ§γ§ might be similar to βThank you for caringβ or βThank you for askingβ in English. |
| Eric: Natsuko, can you say βThanks to you, Lindaβ using γθζ§γ§οΌ |
| Natsuko: Well, in that case, you have to drop γγΎ. |
| First, say the name, Linda. Next add the particle [no] and γγγγ§ . [Linda no o-kage de.] |
| Eric: So we donβt say [Linda no o-kage-sama de?] |
| Natsuko: No. It has to be [Linda no o-kage de] |
| Eric: βThanks to you, Lindaβ or βThanks to Lindaβ. Letβs look at this lessonβs dialogue. In the dialogue, Linda saidβ¦ |
| Natsuko:γγγγγ§γγγ |
| Eric: Which means βHow are you?β And Mr. Tanaka saidβ¦ |
| Natsuko: γ―γγγγγγγΎγ§γ |
| Eric:..which means βIβm very good. Thank you.β Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
| Eric: In this lesson, youβll learn how to greet someone you haven't seen for a long time. In the dialogue, Linda said... |
| Natsuko: γδΉ γγΆγγ§γ |
| Eric: which means βLong time, no seeβ or βIt's been a whileβ. Letβs break it down. |
| Natsuko:γ |
| Eric: An honorific prefix o- (γ) |
| Natsuko:δΉ γγΆγ |
| Eric: βAfter a long timeβ or βhave been awhile.β |
| Natsuko:γ§γγ |
| Eric: A polite copula, desu (γ§γ). You can say γγ²γγγΆγγ§γ when you meet a person who you havenβt seen for a long time. |
| Natsuko: If someone says γγ²γγγΆγγ§γ to you, you can just repeat the same phrase, γγ²γγγΆγγ§γ. |
| A: γδΉ γγΆγγ§γγ |
| B: γδΉ γγΆγγ§γγ |
| Eric: which means A: βLong time no see.β |
| B: βLong time no see.β |
| Now, Natsuko, [O-hisashiburi desu] is a polite expression, right? |
| Natsuko: Right. Actually, you can drop the first [ o] and say γ²γγγΆγγ§γγItβs still polite. But less polite than γγ²γγγΆγγ§γγ |
| Eric: OK. What about the casual expression? |
| Natsuko: In casual conversation, you can just say δΉ γγΆγγ You can use δΉ γγΆγ with close friends, colleagues, and family members. |
| Eric: Letβs recap. Natsuko, how do you say βLong time no seeβ in a polite way? |
| Natsuko:γγγ²γγγΆγγ§γγor γ²γγγΆγγ§γ |
| Eric: Whatβs βLong time no see.β in a casual way? |
| Natsuko: δΉ γγΆγγ |
| Eric: OK. After you hear γγ²γγγΆγγ§γ, the conversation usually continues with the question βHow are you?β which in Japanese is... |
| Natsuko: γε ζ°γ§γγοΌ |
| Eric:This is a very polite way to ask how someone is. |
| Natsuko: γγγγγ§γγ is translated as βHow are you?β in English. But I donβt think we ask γγγγγ§γγ as much as you do in English. |
| Eric: Thatβs true. In English, we say βhow are you?β every day when we see people. Whereas in Japanese, people usually ask [o genki desu ka?] when they see someone after a long absence. |
| Natsuko: Right. If you havenβt seen someone for a long time, you probably want to know how he or she has been doing, right? |
| Eric: So γγγγγ§γγ can also be translated as βHow have you been?β Natsuko, how can we reply to γγγγγ§γγ? |
| Natsuko: You can say ε ζ°γ§γ if youβre fine. Or you can use this lessonβs key vocab and say...γγγζ§γ§ε ζ°γ§γ. |
| Eric: OK. Now listeners, Iβll ask Natsuko how she is and sheβll give an answer. Please listen to our conversation and see if you can understand. |
| Eric: γͺγ€γγγγγγ²γγγΆγγ§γγγε ζ°γ§γγγ |
| Natsuko: γ―γγγθζ§γ§ε ζ°γ§γγ |
| Eric:γI said βNatsuko, itβs been a long time. How are you?β |
| Natsuko: And I said βIβm very good. Thanks for asking.β I saidβ¦ [ o-kage sama de genki desu], but you can leave out [genki desu] and simply say [okage sama de]. |
| Eric: OK. Our conversation would be⦠|
| γͺγ€γγγγγγγγγ§γγγ |
| Natsuko:γγγγζ§γ§γ |
| Eric: Natsuko, can you give us some more examples? |
| Natsuko: Sure. δ½γ ζ¨γγγγδΉ γγΆγγ§γγ |
| Eric: βHi, Mr. Sasaki. Long time no see.β |
| Natsuko: γδΉ γγΆγγ§γγγε ζ°γ§γγγ |
| Eric: βIt's been a long time. How are you?β |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, thatβs all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and weβll see you next time! Bye! |
| Natsuko: γΎγγ |
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