Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Intro

Risa: Imagine you are meeting at his or her office. You are at the reception desk. What do you say? こんにちは。りさです. Risa here. Talking about an appointment in Japan is easy. In this lesson, you’ll learn how. Mark has come to his friend’s company. Let's watch!
Dialogue
Receptionist: おはようございます。
Mark: おはようございます。中村さまと1時にやくそくがあります。
Receptionist: お名前をおねがいします。
Mark: タッガートです。
Receptionist: タッガートさま、すこしおまちください。
Receptionist: もうしわけございません。中村は、かいぎのためすこしおくれます。すこしおまちいただけますか。
Mark: どれくらいですか。
Receptionist: 10分ほどです。ここでおまちいただけますか。
Mark: わかりました。
Receptionist: あちらのせきにおかけください。
Mark: はい、わかりました。
Risa: Now with English.
Receptionist: Good morning.
Mark: Good morning. I have a 1:00 appointment with Mr. Nakamura.
Receptionist: Your name, please?
Mark: Taggart.
Receptionist: Just a moment, Mr. Taggart.
Receptionist: I'm very sorry, but Mr. Nakamura will be a little late because of a meeting. Could you please wait a little longer?
Mark: About how long do you expect?
Receptionist: About 10 minutes. Can you wait here for him?
Mark: Sure, no problem.
Receptionist: Then please have a seat over there.
Mark: Okay.
Vocab
Risa: Here are the keywords from the scene.
Mark: おはようございます。
Kyoko: おはようございます。
Alisha: Good morning.
Kyoko: おはようございます。, おはようございます。
Mark: やくそく
Kyoko: やくそく
Alisha: appointment
Kyoko: やくそく, やくそく
Mark: すこし
Kyoko: すこし
Alisha: a little
Kyoko: すこし, すこし
Mark: かいぎ
Kyoko: かいぎ
Alisha: meeting
Kyoko: かいぎ, かいぎ
Mark: おくれます
Kyoko: おくれます
Alisha: be late
Kyoko: おくれます, おくれます
Mark: まちます
Kyoko: まちます
Alisha: wait
Kyoko: まちます, まちます
Mark: ほど
Kyoko: ほど
Alisha: about
Kyoko: ほど, ほど
Mark: せき
Kyoko: せき
Alisha: seat
Kyoko: せき, せき
Mark: かけます
Kyoko: かけます
Alisha: sit down
Kyoko: かけます, かけます
Key Phrases
Risa: Here are the key phrases from the scene.
Alisha: In the scene, how did the secretary ask Mark to wait for a short period of time?
Secretary: タッガートさま、すこしおまちください。
Alisha: First is the name, "Mr. Taggart."
Kaori: タッガートさま、
Alisha: Next is a word for "a little," or, "a second."
Kaori: すこし。
Alisha: After this is an expression meaning "please wait.”
Kaori: おまちください。
Alisha: Together, it’s…
Kaori: タッガートさま、すこしおまちください。
Alisha: Please wait a moment, Mr. Taggart.
Alisha: Now you try! Say the secretary's line after Mark speaks.
Mark: タッガートです。
Secretary: タッガードさま、すこしおまちください。
Alisha: Now, the expression meaning ”Please wait…”
Kaori: おまちください
Alisha: …starts with the honorific prefix.
Kaori: お
Alisha: Next is the word for "to wait."
Kaori: まち
Alisha: out of
Kaori: まちます
Alisha: Last is the word for "please."
Kaori: ください
Alisha: The secretary used the same structure when she asked Mark to have a seat.
Alisha: Here's the sentence, which means, "Please have a seat over there."
Kaori: あちらのせきにおかけください。
Alisha: The phrase…
Kaori: おかけください
Alisha: …has the structure -
Kaori: お 
Alisha:plus
Kaori: かけ 
Alisha: from
Kaori: かけます
Alisha: “to have a seat,” plus…
Kaori: ください
Alisha: “Please.”
Alisha: Together, it's
Kaori: おかけください
Alisha: “Please have a seat.” In the scene, how did the secretary ask Mark to wait a bit more?
Secretary:すこしおまちいただけますか。
Alisha: It means almost the same thing as the expression…
Kaori: すこしおまちください。
Alisha: But the ending is different. One ends with…
Kaori: ください
Alisha: meaning "please." The other ends with…
Kaori: いただけますか
Alisha: …meaning "could you?". Ending with this…
Kaori: いただけますか
Alisha: …makes it a very polite request. Together it’s…
Kaori: すこしおまちいただけますか。
Alisha: "Could you wait a moment?”
Alisha: Now you try! Say the secretary's next line.
Secretary: 中村は、かいぎのためすこしおくれます。
Secretary: すこしおまちいただけますか。
Alisha: In the scene, how did the secretary say "I'm very sorry" when he told Mark that Yoshi would be late?
Secretary: もうしわけございません。
Alisha: This is a very polite expression meaning "I'm very sorry." It's often used in business settings.
Kaori: もうしわけございません。
Alisha: “I’m very sorry.” The most commonly used expression to say "I'm sorry" is…
Kaori: すみません
Alisha: “I’m sorry.”
Alisha: When you need to say "I'm really sorry" or "I sincerely apologize", you can use…
Kaori: もうしわけございません。
Alisha: In the scene, how did the secretary tell Mark that Nakamura will be a little late because of a meeting?
Secretary: 中村は、かいぎのためすこしおくれます。
Alisha: This contains a phrase expressing a reason for something. In this case, the reason is a meeting. Here's a phrase meaning "because of a meeting."
Kaori: かいぎのため
Alisha: First is the word for "meeting."
Kaori: かいぎ
Alisha: After this is the possession marking particle.
Kaori: の
Alisha: Last is the word for "reason."
Kaori: ため
Alisha: Together, it’s…
Kaori: かいぎのため
Alisha: “because of a meeting.”
Alisha: The structure, [noun] plus
Kaori: の … ため
Alisha: is used to mean "because of [noun.]”
Alisha: “Nakamura will be a little late because of a
meeting.”
Kaori: 中村は、かいぎのためすこしおくれます。
Alisha: Now you try! Say the secretary's line.
Secretary: もうしわけございません。
Secretary: 中村は、かいぎのためすこしおくれます。

Lesson focus

Risa: Now, the lesson focus. Here's how to talk about appointments. Ready?
Alisha: How did Mark explain to the secretary that he had an appointment with Yoshi?
Mark: 中村さまと11時にやくそくがあります。
Alisha: First is the name "Mr. Nakamura."
Kaori: 中村さま
Alisha: This is Yoshi's family name. At the end is the honorific suffix…
Kaori: さま
Alisha: It's common in business settings to use this suffix…
Kaori: さま
Alisha: …for people belonging to other companies. Adding it to the family name shows respect. Next is a particle meaning "with."
Kaori: と
Alisha: After this is the phrase for "one o'clock."
Kaori: 1時。
Alisha: Next is the time marking particle. Here, it means "at."
Kaori: に。
Alisha: After this is the word for "appointment."
Kaori: やくそく
Alisha: Next is the subject marking particle.
Kaori: が
Alisha: Last is the word for "to be" or "to exist" as you learned in a previous lesson.
Kaori: あります。
Alisha: This verb can also mean something like "to have." So…
Kaori: やくそくがあります
Alisha: …is a way of saying "I have an appointment." Together, this sentence is…
Kaori: 中村さまと1時にやくそくがあります。
Alisha: “I have an appointment with Mr. Nakamura at 1:00.” In the Japanese sentence, the word for "I" is omitted because its meaning is clear from the context. When you want to say that you have an appointment with someone at a certain time, you can use a simple sentence pattern. [someone's name]
Kaori: と
Alisha: [time]
Kaori: に やくそくがあります。
Alisha: Now you try! Imagine you have an appointment with Mr. Sato at 10:00. What do you say?
Kaori: 佐藤さまと10時にやくそくがあります。
Alisha: “I have an appointment with Mr. Sato at 10:00.”
Alisha: In the scene, how did the secretary say the name Mr. Nakamura?
Secretary: 中村は、かいぎのためすこしおくれます。
Alisha: The secretary just called him…
Kaori: 中村
Alisha: …without any suffix. In Japan, when talking to someone outside their group about someone inside their own group — whether it's their company, family, or some other organization — people won't add a suffix to the person's name. This is true no matter how high-ranking any of the people involved are.
Alisha: Do you remember what Mark asked after he was told that Mr. Nakamura would be a little late?
Mark: どれくらいですか。
Alisha: First is the phrase for "how long."
Kaori: どれくらい
Alisha: In this case, it means, "How long. It can also mean "How much." After this is a linking verb. Here, it means something like "is" or "will be."
Kaori: です
Alisha: Last is the question marking particle.
Kaori: か
Alisha: Together it’s…
Kaori: どれくらいですか。
Alisha: “How long is it?” or “How long will it take?” Whenever you want to ask how long something will take, you can use this question…
Kaori: どれくらいですか。
Alisha: “How long will it take?” Now you try! Imagine you're ordering a pizza, and are being asked to wait. Ask how long it will take?
Kaori: どれくらいですか。
Alisha: You may get an answer like…
Kaori: 1時間くらいです。
Alisha: “It'll be about 1 hour.” Now, imagine you're at the doctor's office. You're being asked to wait because there are many other patients there. Ask how long it will take.
Kaori: どれくらいですか。
Alisha: You may get an answer like…
Kaori: 2時間くらいです。
Alisha: “It will take about 2 hours.”
Practice
Risa: Now, it’s time to practice your new ability.
Alisha: You arrive at a company for an appointment with a friend who works there. Ready? Here we go. The secretary greets you first. Say “good morning” to the secretary.
Secretary:おはようございます。
Kaori: おはようございます。
Alisha: How do you tell him that you have an appointment with your friend, Mr. Tanaka, at 10:00?
Kaori: 田中さまと10時にやくそくがあります。
Alisha: The secretary asks your name. How do you answer?
Secretary: お名前をおねがいします。
Alisha: [Your name]
Kaori: です。
Mark:タッガートです。
Alisha: Unfortunately, you're told that Mr. Tanaka is still in a meeting and are asked to wait for a bit. How do you ask how long it will be?
Kaori: どれくらいですか。
Secretary: 10分ほどです。
Alisha: Great job! You’ll follow the same pattern many times, so be sure to practice it.

Outro

Risa: よくできました! Now, watch the scene one more time. After that, practice with us in the comments. じゃまたね!
Dialogue
Receptionist: おはようございます。
Mark: おはようございます。中村さまと1時にやくそくがあります。
Receptionist: お名前をおねがいします。
Mark: タッガートです。
Receptionist: タッガートさま、すこしおまちください。
Receptionist: もうしわけございません。中村は、かいぎのためすこしおくれます。すこしおまちいただけますか。
Mark: どれくらいですか。
Receptionist: 10分ほどです。ここでおまちいただけますか。
Mark: わかりました。
Receptionist: あちらのせきにおかけください。
Mark: はい、わかりました。

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