Finding Your Way Around a Japanese Home

Dialogue

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Lesson conversation
INTRODUCTION
Matt: Hi everyone, and welcome back to JapanesePod101.com. This is Lower Beginner, Season 2, Lesson 5 - Finding Your Way Around a Japanese Home. Matt Here.
Natsuko: こんにちは。 I'm Natsuko.
Matt: In this lesson, you’ll learn to understand the layout of a house. The conversation takes place at a host family's house.
Natsuko: It’s between David and his host mother.
Matt: The speakers are a student and his host mother, and the student will be using formal Japanese with his host mother. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
ホストマザー:さぁ、ここが、デービッドのへやですよ。
デービッド:広いですね。ありがとうございます！
ホストマザー:ケンタとタイチのへやはとなりですよ。
デービッド:おにいさんはどっちですか。
ホストマザー:ケンタですよ。それから、ここがリビングです。トイレはあそこですよ。
デービッド:おふろはどこですか。
ホストマザー:おふろとせんめんじょは、2かいです。それから、トイレは2かいにもありますよ。
デービッド:わかりました。ありがとうございます。
Matt: Listen to the conversation one time slowly.
ホストマザー:さぁ、ここが、デービッドのへやですよ。
デービッド:広いですね。ありがとうございます！
ホストマザー:ケンタとタイチのへやはとなりですよ。
デービッド:おにいさんはどっちですか。
ホストマザー:ケンタですよ。それから、ここがリビングです。トイレはあそこですよ。
デービッド:おふろはどこですか。
ホストマザー:おふろとせんめんじょは、2かいです。それから、トイレは2かいにもありますよ。
デービッド:わかりました。ありがとうございます。
Matt: Listen to the conversation with the English translation
ホストマザー:さぁ、ここが、デービッドのへやですよ。
Host mother: This is your room, David.
デービッド:広いですね。ありがとうございます！
David: It's a big room. Thank you!
ホストマザー:ケンタとタイチのへやはとなりですよ。
Host mother: Kenta and Taichi's room is next door.
デービッド:おにいさんはどっちですか。
David: Which one is the big brother?
ホストマザー:ケンタですよ。それから、ここがリビングです。トイレはあそこですよ。
Host mother: Kenta is. Then, here is a living room, and a toilet is over there.
デービッド:おふろはどこですか。
David: Where is the bathroom?
ホストマザー:おふろとせんめんじょは、2かいです。それから、トイレは2かいにもありますよ。
Host mother: The bathroom and washroom is on the second floor. Another toilet is upstairs too.
デービッド:わかりました。ありがとうございます。
David: Got it. Thank you.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Natsuko: Matt, did you know that Japanese houses usually have a bathroom and toilet separately?
Matt: I did! And.. there is also a separate washroom, right? Why is that?
Natsuko: It’s because the normal way that Japanese people take a bath is to clean their body outside the bathtub in the shower, and afterwards soak in the tub to relax.
Matt: I see. That’s why you need to use a different word to talk about the bathroom and toilet.
Natsuko: That’s right. When you say yokushitsu in Japanese, it means “bathroom”. It’s only used when referring to bathing, not the toilet.
Matt: But listeners, please note that this is not true of all Japanese houses. Many one-room apartments in Japan don't have a separate bathroom and toilet.
Natsuko: So, when you’re looking for an apartment, it's important for some people to find a place that has a separate bathroom and toilet.
Matt: That’s a good tip. Okay, now onto the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Matt: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is..
Natsuko: さあ [natural native speed]
Matt: come on
Natsuko: さあ [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Natsuko: さあ [natural native speed]
Matt: Next we have..
Natsuko: へや [natural native speed]
Matt: room, chamber
Natsuko: へや[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Natsuko: へや [natural native speed]
Matt: Next we have..
Natsuko: 広い [natural native speed]
Matt: wide, broad
Natsuko: 広い [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Natsuko: 広い [natural native speed]
Matt: Next we have..
Natsuko: となり [natural native speed]
Matt: next to, neighbor, neighboring
Natsuko: となり [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Natsuko: となり [natural native speed]
Matt: Next we have..
Natsuko: それから [natural native speed]
Matt: and, and then
Natsuko: それから [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Natsuko: それから [natural native speed]
Matt: Next we have..
Natsuko: リビング [natural native speed]
Matt: living room
Natsuko: リビング [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Natsuko: リビング [natural native speed]
Matt: Next we have..
Natsuko: せんめんじょ [natural native speed]
Matt: bathroom
Natsuko: せんめんじょ [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Natsuko: せんめんじょ [natural native speed]
Matt: Next we have..
Natsuko: ある [natural native speed]
Matt: to be, to exist
Natsuko: ある [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Natsuko: ある [natural native speed]
Matt: Next we have..
Natsuko: かい [natural native speed]
Matt: the counter for floors
Natsuko: かい [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Natsuko: かい [natural native speed]
Matt: Next we have..
Natsuko: どっち [natural native speed]
Matt: which one
Natsuko: どっち [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Natsuko: どっち [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Matt: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is..
Natsuko: わかりました
Matt: meaning "Okay", "I understand", "I see."
Natsuko: This phrase is the past tense of わかります (wakarimasu), which is a verb meaning "to understand.”
Matt: You can use it when you understand something you’ve heard from another person. Natsuko, can you give us an example using this word?
Natsuko: Sure. For example, when you’re looking for an elevator inside a building and someone says エレベーターはあそこです。
Matt: meaning.. “The elevator is over there.”
Natsuko: You can answer by saying わかりました。
Matt: ..which means "Okay” or literally “I understood.”
Matt: Okay, what's the next word?
Natsuko: 2かいにもありますよ。
Matt: meaning "It's on the 2nd floor too."
Natsuko: We wanted to introduce this expression because you’ll hear this pattern a lot. Here, the point is the particle も, which is placed before ありますよ Without the particle, you can say 2かいにありますよ (ni-kai ni arimasu yo) which means “It’s on the 2nd floor.”
Matt: But if you want to add the meaning “too”, you need the particle, right?
Natsuko: That’s right. To mean "something is on the second floor too," you add mo after the phrase "on the second floor" which is 2かいに (ni-kai ni), and say 2かいにも (ni-kai ni mo.) 2かいにもありますよ。
Matt: "It's on the 2nd floor too." Okay, what's the next word?
Natsuko: どっち
Matt: meaning "which one"
Natsuko: You can use どっち when you want to say “which one,” “which person,” or “which direction.”
Matt: But listeners, note that you should not use this word in a formal conversation. Natsuko, can you give us an example using this word?
Natsuko: If someone says.. チョコレートケーキとチーズケーキがあります。
Matt: which means “We have a chocolate cake and a cheesecake.”
Natsuko: And then.. どっちがおいしいですか。
Matt: It would mean “Which is better?" Okay, now onto the grammar.
Lesson focus
Matt: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask and describe where something is located.
Natsuko: First, let’s take a look at how to ask the location of something.
Matt: To ask the location of something, you can say the name of the object first, then say..
Natsuko: ...はどこですか。
Matt: meaning “Where is [something]? Using this pattern, how can you say “Where’s a toilet?”
Natsuko: トイレ is the word meaning “toilet” so you can say.. トイレはどこですか。
Matt: Great.
Natsuko: Here, in the pattern ...はどこですか。we have the topic marking particle は, the word どこ meaning “where”, and ですか, which is the copula and question marking particle.
Matt: If you want to know the location of something, you can use this pattern, but with a different noun that you’re looking for.
Natsuko: That’s right. If you’re looking for a key, you can use the noun かぎ (kagi) meaning “key” with the pattern.
Matt: So “Where’s the key?” in Japanese will be..
Natsuko: かぎはどこですか。(slow) かぎはどこですか。
Matt: Okay. Now let’s hear how to say where something is.
Natsuko: The pattern is very easy to follow. First, you need to say the name of the thing. For example, トイレ , if you want to give the location of a toilet.
Matt: Then we need a topic marking particle, right?
Natsuko: That’s right. You can say は as in トイレは。
Matt: Then, you can say the location. For example, if the toilet is there, you can use the word..
Natsuko: そこ (slow) そこ
Matt: Okay. Then, the copula です can be added. Natsuko, all together, how can you say “The toilet is there” in Japanese?
Natsuko: トイレはそこです。トイレ means “toilet”, は is the “topic marking particle”, そこ means “ there”, です。is a copula meaning something like “there is.”
Matt: Okay. What if it’s here? What can we say?
Natusko: ここ is the Japanese word meaning “here” so you can say トイレはここです。
Matt: What if it’s over there?
Natsuko: You can use the word あそこ。It means “over there.” トイレはあそこです。
Matt: And sometimes, you’ll hear this word too.
Natsuko: 2かい
Matt: It means “second floor.” If the toilet is on the 2nd floor, you’ll hear..
Natsuko: トイレは2かいです。
Matt: “The toilet is on the 2nd floor.” Literally “Toilet is 2nd floor.”
Natsuko: Keep in mind that かい is the counter for floors.
Matt: Make sure to check the PDF lesson notes to learn more examples using these patterns. Now let’s practice. To ask where the living room is, you say,
(Pause)
Natsuko: 　リビングはどこですか。
Matt: Meaning “Where is the living room?”
Matt: Next. If the living room is on the 2nd floor, what do you say?
(Pause)
Natsuko: リビングは、2かいです。
Matt: Meaning “A living room in on the 2nd floor.”
Matt: You are showing your house to a friend. To explain that a toilet is here and a bathroom is over there, you say.”
(Pause)
Natsuko: トイレはここです。それから、おふろはあそこです。
Matt: Which means “A toilet is here. And a bathroom is over there.”
Outro
Matt: Well, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye!
Natsuko: またね。

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Finding Your Way Around a Japanese Home

Want to Understand & Master the Japanese Dialogue 100%?

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Lesson conversation

Lesson focus

Outro