Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how the civil servant says,
"Mr. Lee, your phone number, please."
リーさん、でんわばんごうを おねがいします。
(Rī-san, denwa bangō o onegai shimasu.)
First is the name, リーさん, Mr. Lee. リーさん.
This starts with Mark's family name, リー, Lee. リー (slow version - breakdown by syllable). リー.
After this is さん, a polite suffix attached to a person's name. さ-ん (slow version - breakdown by syllable). さん.
This suffix can be used with any gender and translates as "Mr." in Mark's case.
Together, it's リーさん, "Mr. Lee." リーさん.
Next is でんわばんごう, "phone number." でんわばんごう.
This starts with でんわ, "phone." で-ん-わ (slow version - breakdown by syllable). でんわ.
Next is ばんごう, "number." ば-ん-ご-う (slow version - breakdown by syllable). ばんごう.
Together, it's でんわばんごう. "Phone number." でんわばんごう.
Remember this because you'll see it again in Mark's response.
Next is を, the object-marking particle. を. を
Think of を as a marker for the word or phrase receiving the action of the sentence. In this sentence, it marks でんわばんごう, "phone number," as the object of the request.
Last is おねがいします, "please." おねがいします.
All together, it's リーさん、でんわばんごうを おねがいします。
This literally means, "Mr. Lee, phone number, please," but it translates as, "Mr. Lee, your phone number, please."
Maki Matsumoto: リーさん、でんわばんごうを おねがいします。
Note, the "your" in "your phone number" is understood from context, as it's a two-person conversation. In Japanese, it's common to omit such understood information.
Remember this request. You'll hear it again later in this lesson.
Let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how Mark says,
"My phone number is 090-0123-4567."
Mark Lee: わたしの でんわばんごうは 090-0123-4567です。
First is わたしの, "my." わたしの.
This starts with the word, わたし. "I." わ-た-し (slow version - breakdown by syllable). わたし.
After this is の, the possessive-marking particle. の.
Think of の as a way to indicate possession. The word it follows possesses the thing that comes after it. In this sentence, it marks わたし, "I," as the possessor.
Together, わたしの. "My." わたしの.
Next, do you remember how to say "phone number?"
でんわばんごう. "Phone number." でんわばんごう.
Together, it's わたしの でんわばんごう, "my phone number." わたしの でんわばんごう.
After this is は, the topic-marking particle. は. は.
It marks わたしの でんわばんごう, "my phone number," as the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for" in the expression "as for my phone number."
Next is Mark's phone number, 090-0123-4567 (in Japanese). 090-0123-4567 (in Japanese).
Notice how Mark says his phone number:
First, he says each number independently instead of in groups of two or more digits.
Second, in Japanese, hyphens are read as no.
ゼロ, きゅう, ゼロ, の.
Last is です. In this case, it's like the "is" in "my phone number is." It's a linking verb. です.
All together, it's わたしの でんわばんごうは 090-0123-4567です. This literally means, "As for my phone number, 090-0123-4567 is," but it translates as "My phone number is 090-0123-4567."
The pattern is
わたしの でんわばんごうは {PHONE NUMBER} です。
"My phone number is {PHONE NUMBER}."
わたしの でんわばんごうは {PHONE NUMBER} です。
To use this pattern, simply replace the {phone number} placeholder with your phone number.
Imagine your phone number is 03-1212-3434. ゼロ-さん-の-いち-に-いち-に -の-さん-よん-さん-よん (slow break-down by syllable). ゼロさんの いちにいちにの さんよんさんよん.
Say
"My phone number is 03-1212-3434."
Ready?
まつもと まき: わたしの でんわばんごうは 03-1212-3434 (ゼロさん の いちにいちにの さんよんさんよん)です。
(Watashi no denwa bangō wa 03-1212-3434 (zero san no ichi ni ichi ni no san yon san yon) desu.)
Maki Matsumoto: "My phone number is 03-1212-3434."
まつもと まき: わたしの でんわばんごうは 03-1212-3434 (ゼロさん の いちにいちにの さんよんさんよん)です。
(Watashi no denwa bangō wa 03-1212-3434 (zero san no ichi ni ichi ni no san yon san yon) desu.)
Japanese has several numbers that sound alike, such as the number 7, しち, and the number one, いち.
To avoid confusion, Japanese users often use alternative pronunciations when giving the digits of a phone number.
The number "four," shi, tends to be pronounced yon,
"seven," shichi, tends to be pronounced nana, and
"nine," ku, tends to be pronounced kyū.

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