Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how Ken Kobayashi asks,
"Mr. Lee, where are you from?"
こばやし けん: リーさん、しゅっしんは どこですか。
(Rī-san, shusshin wa doko desu ka.)
First is リーさん, "Mr. Lee." リーさん.
This starts with Mark Lee's family name, リー, "Lee." リー.
After this is さん, a polite suffix attached to a person's name that translates as "Mr." in Mark's case. さ-ん (slow version - breakdown by syllable). さん.
Note: this suffix can be used with any gender.
Together, リーさん, "Mr. Lee." リーさん.
Next is the word, しゅっしん, "hometown." しゅ-っ-し-ん (slow version - breakdown by syllable). しゅっしん.
Remember this word, because you'll see it again in Mark's response.
After this is the particle, は, the topic-marking particle. は.
It marks "hometown" as the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for" in the expression "as for your hometown."
Together, it's しゅっしんは, "as for [your] hometown." しゅっしんは.
Note: the "your" is understood through context, as the speaker is asking a question.
しゅっしん は.
Next is the word, どこ, "where." どこ (slow version - breakdown by syllable). どこ.
After this is です. Here, it's like the "is" in "where is." で-す (slow version - breakdown by syllable). です.
Last is the particle, か, the question-marking particle. か.
This particle turns the sentence into a question.
All together, it's リーさん、しゅっしんは どこですか。This literally means "Mr. Lee, as for [your] hometown, where is," but it translates as "Mr. Lee, where are you from?" リーさん、しゅっしんは どこですか。
Remember this question. You'll hear it again later in this lesson.
Now, let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how Mark Lee says,
"I'm from New York."
リー マーク: しゅっしんは ニューヨークです。
Rī Māku: Shusshin wa Nyū Yōku desu.
First is しゅっしん, "hometown." しゅっしん.
Next is the particle, は, the topic-marking particle. は.
It marks "hometown" as the topic of the sentence.
Together it's, しゅっしん は. "As for [my] hometown." しゅっしんは.
Note: the "my" is understood through context, as the speaker is responding to a question about his hometown.
Next is ニューヨーク, "New York." ニューヨーク(slow version - breakdown by syllable). ニューヨーク.
Last is です. In this case, it's like the "is" in "it is." です.
All together, しゅっしんは ニューヨークです。This literally means, "As for [my] hometown, New York is," but it translates as, "I'm from New York." しゅっしんは ニューヨークです。
The pattern is
しゅっしん は {hometown} です。
"I'm from {hometown}."
しゅっしん は {hometown} です。
To use this pattern, simply replace the {hometown} placeholder with the name of your hometown.
Imagine you're from Sydney. In Japanese, シドニー. シドニー. (slow version - breakdown by syllable) シドニー.
Say
"I'm from Sydney"
Ready?
マーティン ミア: しゅっしんは シドニーです。
(Shusshin wa Shidonī desu.)
Mia Martin: "I'm from Sydney."
マーティン ミア: しゅっしんは シドニーです。
(Shusshin wa Shidonī desu.)

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