Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Natsuko: ナツコです。(Natsuko desu.)
Peter: Peter here. Natsuko-san,
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Natsuko-san, we are back.
Natsuko: I can’t wait to find out. What’s happening to this patient?
Peter: Oh yes! Well let’s just give everyone a little recap here.
Natsuko: Oh, okay.
Peter: In the first episode, what Japanese word do we have?
Natsuko: 昏睡状態 (konsui jōtai)
Peter: Coma. Last week we had
Natsuko: 記憶喪失 (kioku sōshitsu)
Peter: Amnesia. So this story has comas, amnesia. What do we need next?
Natsuko: Traffic accident?
Peter: No. Come on Natsuko, the answer is so easy.
Natsuko: Really? Well, give me a hint.
Peter: Okay, four letters. PSIA, kind of like CIA, PSIA.
Natsuko: Umm, I still don’t get it. That doesn’t ring a bell.
Peter: Yeah, these letters really don’t have that ring to it.
Natsuko: No.
Peter: But this is actually an intelligence agency in Japan.
Natsuko: Oh really?
Peter: Yep.
Natsuko: I didn’t know that.
Peter: We asked quite a few people about this and most didn’t know and even if they knew, they didn’t have that like spy image.
Natsuko: No. Definitely not.
Peter: You know not the same impact as CIA or FBI.
Natsuko: Yeah.
Peter: But alas! Japan does have the same kind of institution and the initials are PSIA. Now this is going to come in the story. So Natsuko-san, can you give us the Japanese for that?
Natsuko: 公安調査庁 (Kōan chōsachō)
Peter: Public Security Investigation Agency. Now how are we going to explain that we know all the facts after we listen to the conversation?
Natsuko: Yeah, right.
Peter: Well just bear with us. We did a little bit of research. So... bear with us. For now, the conversation continues. Natsuko-san, are you ready?
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Here we go.
DIALOGUE
病院長 (byōinchō) : お名前は高山覚です。昭和45年の生まれです。群馬県の出身です。
ご家族が3人います。(O-namae wa Takayama Satoshi desu. Shōwa yon-jū go-nen no umare desu. Gunma-ken no shusshin desu. Go-kazoku ga san-nin imasu.)
さとし (Satoshi) : 家族?(Kazoku?)
病院長 (byōinchō) : そうですよ。奥さんと娘さんがいます。(Sō desu yo. Okusan to musume-san ga imasu.)
さとし (Satoshi) : 今二人はどこですか。教えてください。(Ima futari wa doko desu ka. Oshiete kudasai.)
病院長 (byōinchō) : それは…。高山さん、話があります。高山さんは公安調査庁の役人で
すから、まず首相に電話します。ちょっと待ってください。(Sore wa... Takayama-san, hanashi ga arimasu. Takayama-san wa Kōan chōsachō no yakunin desu kara, mazu shushō ni denwa shimasu. Chotto matte kudasai.)
もう一度お願いします。ゆっくりお願いします。(Mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. Yukkuri onegai shimasu.)
病院長 (byōinchō) : お名前は高山覚です。昭和45年の生まれです。群馬県の出身です。
ご家族が3人います。(O-namae wa Takayama Satoshi desu. Shōwa yon-jū go-nen no umare desu. Gunma-ken no shusshin desu. Go-kazoku ga san-nin imasu.)
さとし (Satoshi) : 家族?(Kazoku?)
病院長 (byōinchō) : そうですよ。奥さんと娘さんがいます。(Sō desu yo. Okusan to musume-san ga imasu.)
さとし (Satoshi) : 今二人はどこですか。教えてください。(Ima futari wa doko desu ka. Oshiete kudasai.)
病院長 (byōinchō) : それは…。高山さん、話があります。高山さんは公安調査庁の役人で
すから、まず首相に電話します。ちょっと待ってください。(Sore wa... Takayama-san, hanashi ga arimasu. Takayama-san wa Kōan chōsachō no yakunin desu kara, mazu shushō ni denwa shimasu. Chotto matte kudasai.)
次は英語が入ります。(Tsugi wa Eigo ga hairimasu.)
病院長 (byōinchō) : お名前は高山覚です。昭和45年の生まれです。群馬県の出身です。
ご家族が3人います。(O-namae wa Takayama Satoshi desu. Shōwa yon-jū go-nen no umare desu. Gunma-ken no shusshin desu. Go-kazoku ga san-nin imasu.)
DIRECTOR: Your name is Satoshi Takayama. You were born in Showa 45. Your hometown is in Gunma prefecture. You have a family of three.
さとし (Satoshi) : 家族?(Kazoku?)
SATOSHI: A family?
病院長 (byōinchō) : そうですよ。奥さんと娘さんがいます。(Sō desu yo. Okusan to musume-san ga imasu.)
DIRECTOR: Yes. You have a wife and a daughter.
さとし (Satoshi) : 今二人はどこですか。教えてください。(Ima futari wa doko desu ka. Oshiete kudasai.)
SATOSHI: Where are they now? Please tell me!
病院長 (byōinchō) : それは…。高山さん、話があります。高山さんは公安調査庁の役人で
すから、まず首相に電話します。ちょっと待ってください。(Sore wa... Takayama-san, hanashi ga arimasu. Takayama-san wa Kōan chōsachō no yakunin desu kara, mazu shushō ni denwa shimasu. Chotto matte kudasai.)
DIRECTOR: That's, well... Takayama-san, we have to speak. Because you're in the PSIA, first I have to call the Prime Minister. Please wait a moment.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Peter: So Natsuko-san, what do you think?
Natsuko: Does this mean that this person is a spy? I guess.
Peter: It can be the Japanese James Bond.
Natsuko: Umm I never saw one.
Peter: That’s how good they are, Natsuko-san.
Natsuko: Oh yes, right.
Peter: That’s how good they are.
Natsuko: Oh yes, right. We shouldn’t notice them.
Peter: There you go. James Bond, he is so flamboyant. You know, blowing things out like come on, Stelfie. You don’t want to get noticed.
Natsuko: Exactly.
Peter: The PSIA has no renegades like that. Everyone is by the book. All right, but before we take a look at the conversation, let’s just check out the vocab. Natsuko-san, hit us off. What do we get first?
VOCAB LIST
Natsuko: 昭和 (Shōwa)
Peter: The Showa period.
Natsuko: (slow) しょうわ (Shōwa) (natural speed) 昭和 (Shōwa)
Peter: Now in Japan, they do use the western calendar. So 2007, 2006, 2008, this is fine. In fact, it’s used every day but at the same time, they also have the Japanese style calendar.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: So when you are filling out Japanese paperwork, they usually will ask for the Japanese calendar date of your birth or things like this. And especially if Japanese people are talking, they will refer to the Japanese calendar when speaking about years.
Natsuko: Yeah, right.
Peter: Especially with birth. Talking about when you are born and stuff.
Natsuko: Yeah, right.
Peter: Now Natsuko-san, the current calendar is.
Natsuko: 平成 (Heisei)
Peter: And it’s Heisei 19, right?
Natsuko: Yes, 平成19年 (Heisei jū ku-nen).
Peter: The 19th year of the Heisei calendar?
Natsuko: Uhoo.
Peter: So anyone who is 19 years old would actually when they are filling a document say 平成 (Heisei) and whatever it was.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Anything before that is
Natsuko: 昭和 (Shōwa)
Peter: Now I am Showa.
Natsuko: Me, too.
Peter: So this goes from about 19 years ago all the way back how many years?
Natsuko: I think it lasted about 60 years.
Peter: Yeah, so quite a while.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: My birth date, I actually now I am 昭和50 (Shōwa go-jū), 50.
Natsuko: Oh really?
Peter: So that means 1975. So 30 – I don’t want to count any more, but you get the idea. If you want to find out about this, stop by, check out the PDF or we will have a link on the site.
Natsuko: Oh yes.
Peter: So in the dialogue, what this 昭和45 (Shōwa yon-jū go), Showa 45 was actually referring to is
Natsuko: 1970.
Peter: Correct. So he is not that old. So even though this is a newbie lesson, still some really good cultural and interesting facts in here.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Okay, next we have
Natsuko: 生まれ (umare)
Peter: Birth.
Natsuko: (slow) うまれ (umare) (natural speed) 生まれ (umare)
Peter: Followed by
Natsuko: 出身 (shusshin)
Peter: Person’s origin.
Natsuko: (slow) しゅっしん (shusshin) (natural speed) 出身 (shusshin)
Peter: Now Natsuko-san, help me out with this pronunciation. It’s しゅっしん (shusshin).
Natsuko: There is a small pause between しゅ (shu) and しん (shin).
Peter: One more time.
Natsuko: 出身 (shusshin)
Peter: 出身 (shusshin)
Natsuko: Yeah, right.
Peter: And what about the pitch accent? Are we going up or down?
Natsuko: Bit rising maybe 出身 (shusshin).
Peter: 出身 (shusshin)
Natsuko: Yeah, like that.
Peter: Ah! Oh I find this word so difficult to pronounce and this word often comes with an honorific prefix.
Natsuko: ご出身 (go-shusshin)
Peter: ご出身 (go-shusshin). Ah work, work, work to do on this word. This one always throws me off. Usually when you are using this word, it’s a very polite situation and that’s why the honorific prefix ご (go) is attached in front of the word. Now in more casual situations, you can use some variation using どこ (doko).
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: どこの人ですか (doko no hito desu ka), where are you from or something like this どこから来ましたか (doko kara kimashita ka), where did you come from? And it’s always these kind of formal situations where the ご出身 (go-shusshin), kind of appears and that’s why it just throws me off. Ah that’s a really polite phrase that comes up in all textbooks. ご出身はどちらですか。(Go-shusshin wa dochira desu ka.)
Natsuko: Yeah, right.
Peter: Ultra-polite Japanese. Next we have
Natsuko: 家族 (kazoku)
Peter: Family.
Natsuko: (slow) かぞく (kazoku) (natural speed) 家族 (kazoku)
Peter: This is another word that takes the honorific prefix
Natsuko: ご (go)
Peter: As in
Natsuko: ご家族 (go-kazoku)
Peter: Next we have
Natsuko: 奥さん (okusan)
Peter: Wife.
Natsuko: (slow) おくさん (okusan) (natural speed) 奥さん (okusan)
Peter: Followed by
Natsuko: 公安調査庁 (Kōan chōsachō)
Peter: PSIA. Public Security Investigative Agency.
Natsuko: (slow) こうあんちょうさちょう (Kōan chōsachō) (natural speed) 公安調査庁 (Kōan chōsachō)
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Peter: Okay, so we always look at the whole story but today, I think there is a lot that we are covering again. So Natsuko-san, what lines do you want to take a look at?
Natsuko: Shall I decide?
Peter: Sure.
Natsuko: Is that all right?
Peter: Yeah.
Natsuko: Well let’s take the long ones.
Peter: Okay, that would mean we will start with the
Natsuko: Well let’s take the first line and then the last line.
Peter: Perfect. So what do we have first?
Natsuko: お名前は高山覚です。(O-namae wa Takayama Satoshi desu.)
Peter: Your name is Satoshi Takayama. So first we have here.
Natsuko: お名前 (o-namae)
Peter: Name with the honorific prefix
Natsuko: お (o)
Peter: This is followed by
Natsuko: は (wa)
Peter: The topic marking particle. Then we have
Natsuko: 高山覚 (Takayama Satoshi)
Peter: Last name, first name. Last name is
Natsuko: 高山 (Takayama)
Peter: First name is
Natsuko: 覚 (Satoshi)
Peter: And the character for his first name is really difficult.
Natsuko: Yeah, I couldn’t read this. Really.
Peter: Natsuko, don’t scare the newbies. She didn’t mean that, no yes. It’s true, some characters can be read in different ways. There are multiple readings for some characters. But in a way, I think it’s kind of interesting.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: That you have to have that kind of personal knowledge.
Natsuko: I thought this was very interesting because this kanji means memory. Doesn’t it?
Peter: That’s right.
Natsuko: So it’s kind of, you know, symbolizing the story.
Peter: Natsuko-san, excellent observation. So let’s just recap here because the structure is kind of unusual. It’s kind of rare that you would tell someone their name.
Natsuko: Yes, I don’t think you usually use this expression.
Peter: Yeah, because I was kind of running it through my head and it just didn’t sit right.
Natsuko: We can’t think of other examples. Can we?
Peter: Just nothing else out there. Well, お名前は (o-namae wa) and stopping there is a very common construction.
Natsuko: Yes, asking someone’s name.
Peter: Yeah, and お名前は (o-namae wa) is short for
Natsuko: お名前は何ですか (o-namae wa nan desu ka)
Peter: Your name is what literally, but yeah so there is no question mark. There is no question-marking particle here. So yeah, it is kind of interesting to say the least.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: So your name is Satoshi Takayama and notice when we translated it, we reversed the order of the name to fit to English which is first name, last name but Japanese is of course, Natsuko-san
Natsuko: Last name, first name.
Peter: All right. Then on to more fun things. This is kind of – what can we call it, the self introduction with another person or introducing someone to themselves. It was kind of difficult and especially due to the next reason. We have
Natsuko: 昭和45年の生まれです。(Shōwa yon-jū go-nen no umare desu.)
Peter: So we are talking about here, the Japanese calendar. You were born in Showa 45 which of course is 1970.
Natsuko: Oh yes.
Peter: So let’s take a look at this sentence. First we have
Natsuko: 昭和45年 (Shōwa yon-jū go-nen)
Peter: So first the Japanese calendar 昭和 (Showa), followed by the year.
Natsuko: 45年 (yon-jū go-nen)
Peter: As we said, this is 1970. This is followed by
Natsuko: の (no)
Peter: Possessive. So Showa 45, then we have
Natsuko: 生まれ (umare)
Peter: Birth. So Showa is what, 1970’s birth.
Natsuko: It’s like the class of 1970.
Peter: Yeah.
Natsuko: Yeah. Birth of 1970.
Peter: There it is. Copyright 1970 like something along these lines.
Natsuko: Yeah.
Peter: So basically, the date comes first followed by the possessive and then followed by 生まれ (umare) and this says that you were born in that year. Now we finish off the sentence with
Natsuko: です (desu)
Peter: So literally we have Showa 45, birth, it is or in this case, I am.
Natsuko: You are.
Peter: You are. Yes, I am sorry.
Natsuko: Yes, yes.
Peter: Very difficult concept to get used to.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Now this is a very common way to say when you were born in Japanese?
Natsuko: I think so, yes, because we usually use Japanese calendars referring to the year you are born.
Peter: Yeah, so not only the calendar but also this pattern, this sentence pattern.
Natsuko: Oh yes.
Peter: The year, followed by
Natsuko: の生まれです (no umare desu)
Peter: So for you listening, the part after the date, the の生まれです (no umare desu) is going to stay the same. And all you have to do is find out your Japanese birth date or birth year and then put that in there.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Now Natsuko-san, I am 1975, which would make me
Natsuko: 昭和50年 (Shōwa go-jū-nen)
Peter: So I would say 昭和50年の生まれです (Shōwa go-jū-nen no umare desu). Okay, it’s that easy. Now my question for you, can I put a western calendar date in here?
Natsuko: Sure.
Peter: So I am 1975. So how would I say that?
Natsuko: 1975年の生まれです。(Sen kyū-hyaku nana-jū go-nen no umare desu.)
Peter: That is definitely not newbie. Very high numbers there. So one more time.
Natsuko: 1975年 (Sen kyū-hyaku nana-jū go-nen)
Peter: Okay, good news and bad news. The good news is, the first part is going to say the same, 1900 (sen kyū-hyaku). Actually I am showing how old I am. You know it’s – you could actually say 2000 because some kids are born.
Natsuko: Yeah, right.
Peter: All right, forget that. Next sentence.
Natsuko: 群馬県の出身です。(Gunma-ken no shusshin desu.)
Peter: Your hometown is Gunma Prefecture. Okay, what do we have first, Natsuko-san?
Natsuko: 群馬県 (Gunma-ken)
Peter: Gunma prefecture. The prefecture, the name of the prefecture comes first and it’s followed by
Natsuko: 県 (ken)
Peter: Which is the word for “prefecture.” So my favorite of course is Ibaraki. So how do we say Ibaraki Prefecture?
Natsuko: 茨城県 (Ibaraki-ken)
Peter: Now let’s go back to the structure. This is followed by
Natsuko: の (no)
Peter: Again possessive. You are part of that prefecture. Then we have
Natsuko: 出身 (shusshin)
Peter: Place of birth and in the previous lesson Natsuko, you gave us a really great breakdown of the pronunciation of this word. One more time, Natsuko-san.
Natsuko: (slow) しゅっしん (shusshin) (natural speed) 出身 (shusshin)
Peter: And lastly.
Natsuko: です (desu)
Peter: Literally, Gunma’s hometown you are.
Natsuko: So the structure is almost the same with the previous sentence, right?
Peter: Exactly the same, and Natsuko-san, what do you think is going to be the most important part about these sentences for me, an English native speaker who is very used to the subject in every sentence.
Natsuko: Oh, yes.
Peter: Yes, in the previous sentence which was
Natsuko: 昭和45年の生まれです。(Shōwa yon-jū go-nen no umare desu.)
Peter: And this sentence
Natsuko: 群馬県の出身です。(Gunma-ken no shusshin desu.)
Peter: There is no subject. You actually have to go back to the first sentence to find out who we are talking about. So Japanese is not very conducive to someone who jumps into a conversation.
Natsuko: Maybe.
Peter: Maybe but we go back, we are talking about you are and actually I think that’s why I got a little confused when we are talking about it is and you are.
Natsuko: Yeah, right.
Peter: Because you have to go all the way back. Fascinating language. So before we move on to the next one, let’s just look at some other prefectures. Natsuko-san, where is your hometown?
Natsuko: 東京都 (Tōkyō-to)
Peter: So how do we say I am from Tokyo or my hometown is Tokyo?
Natsuko: 東京の出身です。(Tōkyō no shusshin desu.)
Peter: Notice for Tokyo, we don’t have to put the 県 (ken).
Natsuko: You don’t use 県 (ken) for Tokyo. Tokyo is 都 (to). It’s kind of special.
Peter: That’s what I wanted to say. You don’t put the 都 (to) for Tokyo because it’s actually right, 東京都 (Tōkyō-to), but Tokyo is just
Natsuko: Just Tokyo.
Peter: Just Tokyo.
Natsuko: Yeah.
Peter: And we already gave you Ibaraki. So let’s stop while we are on top. Let’s move on. Now we have
Natsuko: ご家族が3人います。(Go-kazoku ga san-nin imasu.)
Peter: You have a family of three. There are three people in your family. First we have
Natsuko: ご家族 (go-kazoku)
Peter: The word for family is actually.
Natsuko: 家族 (kazoku)
Peter: But to increase the politeness level, we attach the prefix
Natsuko: ご (go)
Peter: This is followed by
Natsuko: が (ga)
Peter: Subject marking particle. Then we have
Natsuko: 3人 (san-nin)
Peter: Three people. Notice how the number, the amount comes after the が (ga).
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: So, 家族3人がいます (kazoku san-nin ga imasu).
Natsuko: Umm… it works, but kind of you know, not so much Japanese like.
Peter: Yeah, so you want to kind of – kind of a good rule of thumb is that a lot of the time, the numbers come after the が (ga). Then we have
Natsuko: います (imasu)
Peter: The polite form of the verb
Natsuko: いる (iru)
Peter: Which means to exist for animate things. And mostly living. Again a rule of thumb. Okay Natsuko-san, what are we on to next?
Natsuko: The last line.
Peter: The last line which again is the head of the hospital. Okay, he starts off with
Natsuko: 高山さん、話があります。(Takayama-san, hanashi ga arimasu.)
Peter: Mr. Takayama, we have to talk. What do we have first?
Natsuko: 高山さん (Takayama-san)
Peter: Mr. Takayama and again, if Takayama was a female, it would be Ms. You cannot tell by the suffix, さん (san) the gender of the person.
Natsuko: Right, yes it’s kind of gender free.
Peter: Gender free! So 2000 is out. Ah Natsuko, your English ability also kind of amazes me.
Natsuko: I am sorry.
Peter: Then nothing follows this. There is a pause. Natsuko-san, if this is a proper sentence, what would we have in there?
Natsuko: に (ni)
Peter: Yeah.
Natsuko: It’s more like a sign showing that I am talking to you, Takayama-san like that.
Peter: Kind of getting his attention but yeah, he is talking at.
Natsuko: Yes.
Peter: Takayama. Okay, then we have?
Natsuko: 話 (hanashi)
Peter: Talk, speak, followed by
Natsuko: が (ga)
Peter: Subject marking particle.
Natsuko: あります (arimasu)
Peter: There is. So literally Mr. Takayama, talk there is. There is something to talk about and yeah this usually is never good news no matter what the language. Follow this up with?
Natsuko: 高山さんは公安調査庁の役人ですから、まず首相に電話します。(Takayama-san wa Kōan chōsachō no yakunin desu kara, mazu shushō ni denwa shimasu.)
Peter: As you remember of the PSIA, first we have to call the Prime Minister.
Natsuko: Prime Minister! Wow!
Peter: Yeah, he must have been pretty important.
Natsuko: Umm…
Peter: Let’s quickly go through this. We start off with?
Natsuko: 高山さん (Takayama-san)
Peter: Mr. Takayama.
Natsuko: は (wa)
Peter: The topic is established. It’s Mr. Takayama. Then we have
Natsuko: 公安調査庁 (Kōan chōsachō)
Peter: PSIA and this is the Public Security Investigation Agency. Again the Japanese FBI, CIA but not the same kind of tone to it, hah!
Natsuko: Not so well known.
Peter: Yeah, plus it’s got four letters. All the good ones have three. And then we have
Natsuko: の (no)
Peter: Possessive. So PSIA is its – he is part of that.
Natsuko: 役人 (yakunin)
Peter: Official. So he is an official of this place. Next we have
Natsuko: ですから (desu kara)
Peter: Are – so you are an official of the PSIA. Therefore, the から (kara) is because, the reason. So as you are a member.
Natsuko: まず (mazau)
Peter: First
Natsuko: 首相 (shushō)
Peter: Prime Minister.
Natsuko: に (ni)
Peter: Direction marking particle に (ni), to the prime minister.
Natsuko: 電話します (denwa shimasu)
Peter: Call. So first we will call the prime minister. Sounds exciting?
Natsuko: Sounds important.
Peter: So after this important announcement, we get
Natsuko: ちょっと待ってください。(Chotto matte kudasai.)
Peter: Please wait a second. All right, Natsuko-san, yeah we are in the midst of a very exciting story.
Natsuko: You are right.

Outro

Peter: And another very long lesson. So we are going to stop here. Natsuko-san, any ideas on what’s going to happen next week, PSIA?
Natsuko: I have no idea but the story seems to be kind of complicated, isn’t it?
Peter: Oh yes, it is. All right, with that said, that’s going to do for today.
Natsuko: じゃあ、また今度。(Jā, mata kondo.)

Grammar

Japanese Grammar Made Easy - Unlock This Lesson’s Grammar Guide

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Kanji

Review & Remember All Kanji from this Lesson

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