Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Natsuko: こんにちは。夏子です。
Akihiro: あきひろです。
Sachiko: Sachiko here. Boyfriend. Wow!
Natsuko: Wow!
Sachiko: What kind of a title is this! I wonder what we are going to talk about.
Natsuko: Well, about a boyfriend. About someone’s boyfriend I guess.
Sachiko: I think it’s going to be two girls gossiping about someone’s boyfriend.
Natsuko: Oh it happens!
Sachiko: Does that make you nervous Akihiro?
Akihiro: 大丈夫ですよ。
Natsuko: Very confident. I like that.
Sachiko: ついてきてくださいね。
Natsuko: じゃ、早速会話を聴いてみましょう。
DIALOGUE
レイ子: ねえねえ、マミの彼氏どうだった。会ったんでしょう。
ユウ子: そうねえ。優しそうな感じだったかな。
レイ子: 優しそうな感じって、どういうこと。
ユウ子: 包容力がありそうな感じ。
レイ子: 包容力があるって・・・どんな感じなの。
ユウ子: すぐ怒ったりしなそうな感じ。
レイ子: へー。柔和で、笑顔が素敵そうなイメージだわ。
もう一度、お願いします。ゆっくり、お願いします。
レイ子: ねえねえ、マミの彼氏どうだった。会ったんでしょう。
ユウ子: そうねえ。優しそうな感じだったかな。
レイ子: 優しそうな感じって、どういうこと。
ユウ子: 包容力がありそうな感じ。
レイ子: 包容力があるって・・・どんな感じなの。
ユウ子: すぐ怒ったりしなそうな感じ。
レイ子: へー。柔和で、笑顔が素敵そうなイメージだわ。
次は、英語が入ります。
レイ子: ねえねえ、マミの彼氏どうだった。会ったんでしょう。
REIKO: Hey, hey, how about Mami's boyfriend? You met him, right?
ユウ子: そうねえ。優しそうな感じだったかな。
YUKO: Yeah. I guess he seemed kind of nice.
レイ子: 優しそうな感じって、どういうこと。
REIKO: He seemed kind of nice? What do you mean by that?
ユウ子: 包容力がありそうな感じ。
YUKO: It felt like he was...patient.
レイ子: 包容力があるって・・・どんな感じなの。
REIKO: Patient? How so?
ユウ子: すぐ怒ったりしなそうな感じ。
YUKO: It seems like he doesn't get angry very easily.
レイ子: へー。柔和で、笑顔が素敵そうなイメージだわ。
REIKO: Wow...I can picture a handsome smiling face and mild mannered
temperament.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Sachiko: 夏子さん、あきひろさん、この会話、どう思いましたか?
Natsuko: 随分はっきり物を言う人ですよね。
Sachiko: そうですよね。
Natsuko: She is so straightforward.
VOCAB LIST
Sachiko: Well today we are going to learn a lot of vocabulary that can be useful when describing a date.
Natsuko: Oh yes.
Sachiko: Yeah so let’s go over them one by one. 一つ目の単語をお願いします。
Akihiro: 彼氏
Natsuko: Boyfriend.
Akihiro: (slow)かれし (natural speed) 彼氏
Sachiko: What’s the word for girlfriend?
Akihiro: 彼女
Sachiko: Which is also the same as the general term she.
Natsuko: And you can also say 彼 for boyfriend.
Sachiko: Ah that’s true.
Natsuko: Which is also the general term for he.
Sachiko: For he. 私の彼。彼女の彼。じゃあ次の単語をお願いします。
Natsuko: 優しい
Sachiko: Tender, kind, gentle.
Natsuko: (slow)やさしい (natural speed) 優しい
Sachiko: But in Japanese, 優しい doesn’t have to have a romantic meaning. Does it?
Natsuko: No. It actually doesn’t have to describe a person. It can be also used for colors.
Sachiko: Okay and it would mean soft?
Natsuko: Uhoo or tender, gentle.
Sachiko: Oh that’s a good point.
Natsuko: Nice and smooth.
Sachiko: Nice.
Akihiro: Now we definitely – we don’t use this word for meat like tender sirloin steak or…
Natsuko: Right.
Sachiko: Right. What do we call tender steak?
Akihiro: やわらかい。
Sachiko: やわらかい。 Ah which is a good vocabulary. It means flexible or soft right? Okay 次の単語をお願いします。
Akihiro: 感じ
Natsuko: Feeling, impression.
Akihiro: (slow)かんじ (natural speed) 感じ
Sachiko: Now be careful. It’s the same sound as kanji which are the Chinese characters that we use.
Natsuko: Yes.
Sachiko: But the context is very different, right? いいかんじ could mean good character or good impression. Wow!
Natsuko: Usually good impression right?
Sachiko: That was a tough decision for me.
Akihiro: なるほどね。
Sachiko: If you leave a bad impression, what would they say?
Akihiro: 悪い漢字。
Sachiko: Yes. The next vocabulary please.
Natsuko: 包容力
Sachiko: Tolerance, composure, thoughtfulness and caring.
Natsuko: (slow)ほうようりょく (natural speed) 包容力
Sachiko: Now what does that mean exactly? It’s such a broad term.
Natsuko: Well let’s look at the kanji.
Sachiko: Okay.
Natsuko: 包 means to wrap and 容 means to contain.
Sachiko: Right.
Natsuko: And 力 is ability. So it means an ability to wrap the whole thing up and contain it inside you.
Sachiko: Ah so someone who has the composure and the patience to kind of sit back and just accept everything as it comes.
Natsuko: Oh yes, accept.
Akihiro: Like an ideal boss would have 包容力
Sachiko: Yeah.
Natsuko: This word gives me a very parental and father-like feeling.
Sachiko: Yes that’s true. A person who just sits back and lets the kid make his own mistakes but at the same time kind of jump in when they need help.
Natsuko: Yes right.
Sachiko: Which brings us to an interesting topic, the kanji for parents is actually standing by the tree and watching.
Natsuko: Oh yeah.
Sachiko: It consists of the kanji stand by the tree and watch.
Natsuko: Well you are right.
Sachiko: Because that’s what an ideal parent is supposed to be.
Natsuko: Oh wow! We are getting philosophical today.
Sachiko: Okay 次の単語をお願いします。
Akihiro: 柔和
Sachiko: Gentleness.
Akihiro: (slow)にゅうわ (natural speed) 柔和
Sachiko: Now this is a vocabulary that I don’t use in daily life but what about you guys?
Natsuko: Hmm not really.
Sachiko: Yeah it’s more like a written language.
Natsuko: Right.
Akihiro: You could use this word to describe the face of Buddha.
Sachiko: Because it’s very gentle and…
Akihiro: Right yeah.
Sachiko: In the statute and in the tablo’s.
Akihiro: あ~。
Sachiko: Yeah. Would that be a compliment do you think?
Akihiro: To Buddha, yes.
Sachiko: But not to – if I said, oh you remind me of Buddha.
Akihiro: To people, I don’t know.
Sachiko: It might be a compliment about their personality but maybe not their appearance.
Natsuko: I am not sure about the appearance of Buddha. So maybe…
Sachiko: That’s true.
Natsuko: It depends.
Sachiko: Okay.
Akihiro: 優しい感じっていうことですよね。
Sachiko: Means gentle and nice. Next vocabulary please.
Natsuko: 笑顔
Sachiko: Smile.
Natsuko: (slow)えがお (natural speed) 笑顔
Sachiko: Now that’s a word that a lot of guys use to describe women. Isn’t it?
Natsuko: Yes.
Sachiko: 笑顔が素敵。
Natsuko: Yes.
Akihiro: ああ、いいですね。
Natsuko: いいですね。
Sachiko: いいですね。そういうのがタイプですか?
Akihiro: もちろん、そうです。
Sachiko: あ、もちろん。And we just coincidentally covered the next vocabulary which is
Akihiro: 素敵
Natsuko: Lovely or great.
Akihiro: (slow)すてき (natural speed) 素敵
Sachiko: Now is this a word that men would use?
Akihiro: It’s okay for men to use this but I have the impression that women use this word more often than men.
Sachiko: Yeah.
Natsuko: Oh you are right.
Sachiko: And they use it for you know, high end luxury things. You wouldn’t use it on anything.
Natsuko: You are right.
Sachiko: It would be a kimono, a really expensive silk kimono is 素敵. You wouldn’t take a – you know, a T-Shirt from a second hand store and call it おお~素敵。
Natsuko: Well maybe as a compliment.
Sachiko: Maybe, maybe as a compliment. But yeah it’s really kind of a very nice and…
Natsuko: Yeah.
Sachiko: It’s a noble kind of sophisticated look probably.
Natsuko: You can also use like きゃー!ジョニーデップ素敵!
Sachiko: Yeah in that case, the translation would be, he is hot instead of lovely.
Natsuko: Yes.
Sachiko: But actually you can say that about people in general.
Natsuko: Yes right.
Sachiko: And not only appearance but personality too I think.
Natsuko: I think so.
Sachiko: Yeah definitely. Okay so now that we have all this wonderful vocabulary with us, let’s learn how to use them.

Lesson focus

Sachiko: Today’s grammar point is something, something so which means he looks like and followed by the adjective. Now Natsuko san, can you look at some of the examples from our dialogue?
Natsuko: Okay 優しそう。
Sachiko: Yes. The second line is 優しそう。How would you translate that?
Natsuko: Seems gentle, seems kind. The dictionary form 優しい so you drop い of い adjectives.
Sachiko: Okay.
Natsuko: And add そう. So 楽しい becomes 楽しそう。
Sachiko: Yes. Okay that’s one pattern. What’s the next pattern in line for?
Natsuko: 包容力がありそう。
Sachiko: What’s the dictionary form of this word?
Natsuko: ある
Sachiko: Which is
Natsuko: To exist.
Sachiko: So ある becomes ありそう. So I guess that turns ある into the masu stem.
Natsuko: Oh yes in case of the verb.
Sachiko: Right. We have the adjective version and the verb version. What’s the next one on line 6?
Akihiro: 怒ったりしなさそう。
Sachiko: And the root form of しなさそう is
Akihiro: しない
Sachiko: So in this case in the conversation, しない becomes しなそう. What is the correct way of saying this?
Natsuko: Well I think it was originally しなさそう. In the case of negative…
Sachiko: Right.
Natsuko: You drop い of ない and add さそう。
Sachiko: To make it しなさそう。
Natsuko: But because it’s pretty long or you know hard to say, we just shorten to しなそう。
Sachiko: Right. So in daily life, we say both right しなさそう。しなそう。
Natsuko: Yes. Both.
Sachiko: Yeah both work if you are communicating with something so we don’t have to worry about that. Let’s look at the next example in the dialogue.
Akihiro: 素敵そう。
Sachiko: Seems lovely. So the root form of this is
Akihiro: 素敵な
Sachiko: And the な gets dropped and replaced with そう to make 素敵そう.

Outro

Sachiko: So there are a lot of patterns here today depending on the adjective, the verb or the negative form. So be sure to print out the PDF and go through it again because it can be a little bit confusing.
Natsuko: But it’s very useful.
Sachiko: Definitely.
Natsuko: And it’s used a lot like this conversation.
Sachiko: Especially if you like gossip, you have to master this. Okay...
Natsuko: それじゃあ、また今度。
Akihiro: さよなら。

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