Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Naomi: なおみです。(Naomi desu.)
Peter: Peter here, Sights and Sounds, Sale, Sale, Sale!
Naomi: バーゲンセールでしょうかね。(Bāgen sēru deshō ka ne.)
Peter: “Bargain sale.” So, Naomi-Sensei…
Naomi: はい。(Hai.)
Peter: What do you think about this picture? この写真、どう思いますか。(Kono shashin, dō omoimasu ka.)
Naomi: Mm.
Peter: 何見えますか。(Nani miemasu ka.)
Naomi: 何?人が見えますね。(Nani? Hito ga miemasu ne.) I bet this picture was taken quite recently, like last spring?
Peter: How do you know?
Naomi: Because of their fashion, people’s fashion.
Peter: なおみ先生も、ファッションに興味ありますか。(Naomi-sensei mo, fasshon ni kyōmi arimasu ka.)
Naomi: どういう意味?(Dō iu imi?)
Peter: So like you’re interested in fashion? ちょっと予想外ですね。(Chotto yosōgai desu ne.) I didn’t really know that. That’s great!
Naomi: That surprises you.
Peter: Yes.
Naomi: Okay. But it’s impossible to see this kind of, like, picture in a textbook. See, this is what is good about podcasting.
Peter: The ability to get current media or even though it’s last year to you.
Naomi: Yes. Like the other day, I was looking at the Japanese textbook and their picture on the textbook was a bit old.
Peter: 1969.
Naomi: A little bit better than that, but it was like 1980s, like chemical washed jeans and people like, their hair was so big and…
Peter: But how do you know what fashion was in? What do you see in there that tells you it’s last spring? Because you’re right, it was taken last spring/summer. What do you see there?
Naomi: Shoes.
Peter: Oh, what kind of shoes?
Naomi: The flat shoes the girls are wearing.
Peter: そういうことですか。(Sō iu koto desu ka.)
Naomi: うん。(Un.)
Peter: その靴、何と言いますか。(Sono kutsu, nan to iimasu ka.)
Naomi: We call them バレリーナシューズ (barerīna shūzu).
Peter: Ah, ballerina shoes.
Naomi: うーん、もっと他にあったかもしれないけど。(Ūn, motto hoka ni atta kamo shirenai kedo.)
Peter: All right.
Naomi: I’m not sure.
Peter: Okay. With that covered, let’s head into today’s conversation. Here we go.
DIALOGUE
A: 本日はセールの最終日でーす。 (Honjitsu wa sēru no saishūbi dēsu.)
B: 良い品がたくさんでていますよー。 (Ii shina ga takusan dete imasu yō.)
A: ぜひ、お立ち寄り下さいませー。 (Zehi, o-tachiyori kudasaimasē.)
B: 本日はセールの最終日でございます。 (Honjitsu wa sēru no saishūbi de gozaimasu.)
A: 本日、人気のシューズが最大50%OFFでございます。 (Honjitsu, ninki no shūzu ga saidai go-juppāsento ofu de gozaimasu.)
B: この機会にぜひお求めくださいませー。 (Kono kikai ni zehi o-motome kudasaimasē.)
もう一度、お願いします。今度は、ゆっくりお願いします。(Mō ichi-do, onegai shimasu. Kondo wa, yukkuri onegai shimasu.)
A: 本日はセールの最終日でーす。 (Honjitsu wa sēru no saishūbi dēsu.)
B: 良い品がたくさんでていますよー。 (Ii shina ga takusan dete imasu yō.)
A: ぜひ、お立ち寄り下さいませー。 (Zehi, o-tachiyori kudasaimasē.)
B: 本日はセールの最終日でございます。 (Honjitsu wa sēru no saishūbi de gozaimasu.)
A: 本日、人気のシューズが最大50%OFFでございます。 (Honjitsu, ninki no shūzu ga saidai go-juppāsento ofu de gozaimasu.)
B: この機会にぜひお求めくださいませー。 (Kono kikai ni zehi o-motome kudasaimasē.)
今度は、英語が入ります。(Kondo wa, Eigo ga hairimasu.)
A: 本日はセールの最終日でーす。 (Honjitsu wa sēru no saishūbi dēsu.)
Today is the last day of our sale!
B: 良い品がたくさんでていますよー。 (Ii shina ga takusan dete imasu yō.)
We have many great items.
A: ぜひ、お立ち寄り下さいませー。 (Zehi, o-tachiyori kudasaimasē.)
Please stop by our store.
B: 本日はセールの最終日でございます。 (Honjitsu wa sēru no saishūbi de gozaimasu.)
Today is the last day of the sale.
A: 本日、人気のシューズが最大50%OFFでございます。 (Honjitsu, ninki no shūzu ga saidai go-juppāsento ofu de gozaimasu.)
Today, we offer 50% discounts on popular shoes.
B: この機会にぜひお求めくださいませー。 (Kono kikai ni zehi o-motome kudasaimasē.)
Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Peter: はい。なおみ先生、この会話どう思いましたか。(Hai. Naomi-sensei, kono kaiwa dō omoimashita ka.)
Naomi: これ会話じゃないですよね。(Kore kaiwa ja nai desu yo ne.) This is not a conversation.
Peter: Really?
Naomi: Is it? ‘Cause they’re not talking, they’re just yelling, right? Trying to get customer’s attention.
Peter: Yes. Well, I mean, they’re kind of, well, they’re talking at people.
Naomi: Yeah, but no interaction.
Peter: Okay, so what can we call this? What can I say to be correct?
Naomi: What did you think about the yelling とか (toka)? 何だろう?(Nan darō?)
Peter: 今日のお叫びは、いかがでしたか。(Kyō no o-sakebi wa, ikaga deshita ka.)
Naomi: 今日のお叫びは、とてもオーセンチックだと思います。(Kyō no o-sakebi wa, totemo ōsenchikku da to omoimasu.)
Peter: The real deal.
Naomi: はい。本物っぽいですね。(Hai. Honmono ppoi desu ne.)
Peter: Now, there are several places in Tokyo you can go to see something like this. Probably, a really good example is in Ueno.
Naomi: あ〜、そうね。チョコレート、チョコレート、チョコレート、チョコレート、みたいな。安いよ、安いよ、安いよ。(Ā, sō ne. Chokorēto, chokorēto, chokorēto, chokorēto, mitai na. Yasui yo, yasui yo, yasui yo.)
Peter: It’s アメ横 (Ameyoko).
Naomi: そう。「アメリカ横丁」なんですよね。(Sō. “Amerika yokochō” nan desu yo ne.)
Peter: A narrow street with stores on both sides, shops on both sides and well, I would say, this, today’s yelling, at the next level. いらっしゃいませ、どうぞ!どうぞー!(Irasshaimase, dōzo! Dōzō!)
Naomi: うん。そうね。(Un. Sō ne.)
Peter: And it’s coming for you on both sides.
Naomi: そう。アメ横に、千円チョコレート屋さんがあります。(Sō. Ameyoko ni, sen-en chokorētoya-san ga arimasu.)
Peter: So, it’s a thousand-Yen chocolate shop in Ameyoko.
Naomi: そう。(Sō.)
Peter: どういう店ですか。(Dō iu mise desu ka.) What kind of place is it? Well, obviously, chocolate, but what is a 千円 (sen-en), a thousand Yen have to do with it?
Naomi: It’s difficult to explain even in Japanese.
Peter: はい、頑張ってください。(Hai, ganbatte kudasai.)
Naomi: どうやって説明したらいいの?うーんと。チョコレートをつかんで、バッグの中にどんどん入れていくんですね。で、あの、バッグいっぱいになるまでチョコレートを入れてくれるんですけど…。多分、面白くないね、これね。(Dō yatte setsumei shitara ii no? Ūn to. Chokorēto o tsukande, baggu no naka ni dondon irete iku n desu ne. De, ano, baggu ippai ni naru made chokorēto o irete kureru n desu kedo… Tabun, omoshirokunai ne, kore ne.) I can’t explain it.
Peter: So, it’s interesting. So, there’s a guy there and he’s yelling, thousand-Yen Chocolate, thousand-Yen chocolate, and you come over, you give him a thousand-Yen, he stuffs your bag until it’s full of chocolate.
Naomi: はい。(Hai.)
Peter: So you feel like you’re getting good value.
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) Usually, you can get a good value. It sounds so boring, but if you actually see it, it’s more exciting.
Peter: あの、もし東京に来ましたら、ぜひアメ横へ行ってみてください。(Ano, moshi Tōkyō ni kimashitara, zehi Ameyoko e itte mite kudasai.) You should definitely try to go. It’s a really nice place.
Naomi: 面白いですよね。ちょっと、汚いけどね。(Omoshiroi desu yo ne. Chotto, kitanai kedo ne.)
Peter: This will shatter your images of a very passive silent Japan.
Naomi: そうね。(Sō ne.) People working there are so aggressive.
Peter: Aggressive!
Naomi: そう。(Sō.) They’re gonna kidnap you.
Peter: My favorite is like when you, when you walk by a store, the first person in that store to offer you something, the difference between the price of the first person to offer you something at the store and the last person is usually at 50%. So like when you start to walk by a store, they’re yelling at you. And, you know, this for a thousand Yen, and you keep walking, okay, 700, okay, 500. By the time you get to the end of the store, it’s like half price.
Naomi: 面白ーい。(Omoshirōi.)
Peter: Mm.
Naomi: え、それは…。(E, sore wa…) Is this a jewelry shop or, what kind of…?
Peter: Uh, fish.
Naomi: そっかー。(Sokkā.)
Peter: はい、タコタコー!タコいかがですか!(Hai, tako takō! Tako ikaga desu ka!)
Naomi: あー、千円、千円、千円。あ〜、もう七百円でいいよ!あー、もう五百円、五百円、五百円!(Ā, sen-en, sen-en, sen-en. Ā, mō nana-hyaku-en de ii yo! Ā, mō go-hyaku-en, go-hyaku-en, go-hyaku-en!)
Peter: 大きいですよ!まけるよ!(Ōkii desu yo! Makeru yo!) Like I’ll go low.
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)
Peter: Okay. Onto today’s vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Peter: First word…
Naomi: 本日 (honjitsu) [natural native speed]
Peter: today
Naomi: 本日 (honjitsu) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Naomi: 本日 (honjitsu) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next…
Naomi: セール (sēru) [natural native speed]
Peter: sale
Naomi: セール (sēru) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Naomi: セール (sēru) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next…
Naomi: 最終日 (saishūbi) [natural native speed]
Peter: last day
Naomi: 最終日 (saishūbi) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Naomi: 最終日 (saishūbi) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next…
Naomi: 品 (shina) [natural native speed]
Peter: goods
Naomi: 品 (shina) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Naomi: 品 (shina) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next…
Naomi: 是非 (zehi) [natural native speed]
Peter: certainly, definitely
Naomi: 是非 (zehi) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Naomi: 是非 (zehi) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next…
Naomi: シューズ (shūzu) [natural native speed]
Peter: shoes
Naomi: シューズ (shūzu) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Naomi: シューズ (shūzu) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next…
Naomi: 最大 (saidai) [natural native speed]
Peter: maximum
Naomi: 最大 (saidai) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Naomi: 最大 (saidai) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next…
Naomi: 機会 (kikai) [natural native speed]
Peter: chance
Naomi: 機会 (kikai) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Naomi: 機会 (kikai) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next…
Naomi: 求める (motomeru) [natural native speed]
Peter: to seek, to request , to demand
Naomi: 求める (motomeru) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Naomi: 求める (motomeru) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next…
Naomi: 立ち寄る (tachiyoru) [natural native speed]
Peter: to stop by, to drop by for a visit
Naomi: 立ち寄る (tachiyoru) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Naomi: 立ち寄る (tachiyoru) [natural native speed]
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Peter: Okay. Let’s take a closer look at some of the words we went over today. Naomi-Sensei, first word.
Naomi: 最終日 (saishūbi)
Peter: “The very last day.”
Naomi: And 最大 (saidai).
Peter: “The maximum”
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)
Peter: Now, these two words, they share a common kanji character. That character is…
Naomi: 最 (sai)
Peter: And means “most.”
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) So, 最大 (saidai) is “maximum.”
Peter: Meaning, the most big, 最大 (saidai) “the most big.” The opposite will be…
Naomi: 最小 (saishō)
Peter: “The smallest.” The character being “the most” and “small,” “the smallest,” and also minimum.
Naomi: はい。じゃあ、長い。(Hai. Jā, nagai.) Chinese reading of 長い (nagai) is チョウ (chō), right? So, 最長 (saichō).
Peter: “The longest.” Next, we have…
Naomi: 求める (motomeru)
Peter: “Too seek, to request.”
Naomi: そうですね。あの、お店では「買う」の代わりに使ったりします。(Sō desu ne. Ano, o-mise de wa “kau” no kawari ni tsukattari shimasu.)
Peter: So in stores, sometimes, the clerk will use this, this word 求める (motomeru) instead of 買う (kau), “to buy.”
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)
Peter: This word is stuck in my head for a while and not because of the shop clerk, but rather because of a song. It always comes up in a song.
Naomi: 本当?(Hontō?)
Peter: 求める (motomeru). 君を求める。(Kimi o motomeru.)
Naomi: I want you. っていう感じね。(Tte iu kanji ne.)
Peter: Right?
Naomi: はい。(Hai.)
Peter: I guess this word has lots of different levels of meaning.
Naomi: Mm.
Peter: It’s quite common in literature and things like that.
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)
Peter: Next, we have…
Naomi: 立ち寄る (tachiyoru)
Peter: “To stop by, to drop by for a visit.” This is a compound verb. The first part of the verb is…
Naomi: 立つ (tatsu)
Peter: “To stand.” We combine this with another verb…
Naomi: 寄る (yoru)
Peter: “To stop by, to drop in.” So, we combine the two verbs to form…
Naomi: 立ち寄る (tachiyoru)
Peter: And you notice 立つ (tatsu), we take the masu stem, 立ち (tachi), and combine it with 寄る (yoru), 立ち寄る (tachiyoru).
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) In this case, this 立つ (tatsu) doesn’t mean to stand up. It’s just emphasizing the following verb.
Peter: So, can we have an example?
Naomi: 銀行に寄った。(Ginkō ni yotta.)
Peter: “I stopped by the bank.”
Naomi: 銀行に立ち寄った。(Ginkō ni tachiyotta.)
Peter: “I stopped by the bank.” Same thing.
Naomi: はい、そうです。(Hai, sō desu.) But 立ち寄った (tachiyotta) sounds more formal.
Peter: I like this verb 寄る (yoru). I used to use it quite a bit when I was living alone, 独身生活 (dokushin seikatsu).
Naomi: うん、なんで?どっか立ち寄ったんですか。(Un, nande? Dokka tachiyotta n desu ka.)
Peter: Not 立ち寄る (tachiyoru), but just 寄る (yoru). Like, for example, I would often talk to my friends at night, “What are you doing?” ああ、今から帰る。(​​Ā, ima kara kaeru.) “I’m going home now.” あの、帰る前にあの飲み屋にちょっと寄る。あの飲み屋に、何とか飲み屋に寄って帰る。(Ano, kaeru mae ni ano nomiya ni chotto yoru. Ano nomiya ni, nantoka nomiya ni yotte kaeru.) So, I’m gonna stop by this 居酒屋 (izakaya) or a bar on the way home. So... もしよかったら、一緒に行こう。(Moshi yokattara, issho ni ik​​ō.)
Naomi: そうね。(Sō ne.)
Peter: So, if you have the time, let’s go together.
Naomi: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Since you’re talking with your friend, you use 寄る (yoru) instead of 立ち寄る (tachiyoru). ですね?(Desu ne?)
Peter: And this verb, 寄る (yoru), is used quite often precedes the verb to go home, to go, or to come, right? 寄って帰る、寄って行く。(Yotte kaeru, yotte iku.)
Naomi: あー、なるほどね。ちょっと、寄って帰る。(​​Ā, naruhodo ne. Chotto, yotte kaeru.)
Peter: Yeah.
Naomi: コンビニに寄って行く、とか。(Konbini ni yotte iku, toka.)
Peter: Yep. I’m gonna go by the convenience store. I’m gonna stop by on my way home.
Naomi: あー、なるほどね。(​​Ā, naruhodo ne.)
Peter: 私は、いつもそんなふうに使っていましたけど。(Watashi wa, itsumo sonna fū ni tsukatte imashita kedo.)
Naomi: うん。(Un.)
Peter: なおみ先生は?(Naomi-sensei wa?)
Naomi: そうだと思います。正しいと思います。(Sō da to omoimasu. Tadashii to omoimasu.)
Peter: Okay, onto today’s grammar point.

Lesson focus

Peter: Okay. In today’s grammar point, we’re covering some super polite Japanese, Japanese that’s quite often used by people doing business.
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)
Peter: So, pretty much, think of it as politeness to the level, we’ll do anything to get your money.
Naomi: そうかもしれないですね。(Sō kamo shirenai desu ne.)
Peter: はい。(Hai.) Now, the thing about this is it’s not just used in business, but we’re gonna go over that in a bit. First, let’s take a look at the structure. Okay. Naomi-Sensei, what are we going over today?
Naomi: Honorific prefix, の「お」(no “o”).
Peter: Plus…
Naomi: Masu stem of the verb
Peter: Plus…
Naomi: ください (kudasai)
Peter: And when you say it like this, it’s much more polite than just saying 〜てください (-te kudasai).
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)
Peter: Okay. Let’s just kinda give you an example to exemplify this. Naomi-Sensei, I think there is one that I think people have probably come into contact with already and they haven’t even realized it. What is the verb “to rest”?
Naomi: 休む (yasumu)
Peter: “To rest.” This is Class 1 verb because the ending is む (mu), so there’s many different endings. So, what is the masu stem of 休む (yasumu)?
Naomi: 休みます、だから「休み」。(Yasumimasu, da kara “yasumi”.)
Peter: Now, according to the pattern, to form some extremely polite Japanese, we add the honorific prefix お (o) to the front of a verb and then follow it with the masu stem. So, for the case we have, 休み (yasumi), we put the “o” in front to get…
Naomi: お休み (o-yasumi)
Peter: Now, you’ve probably come into contact with this already. You’ve heard おやすみ (oyasumi) all the time.
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)
Peter: This is where it comes from. Now, this is such a common expression that it was kind of mainstreamed into Japanese lexicon that it just means “goodnight,” but it originally comes from a grammatical pattern.
Naomi: Mm.
Peter: Now, this will be followed by…
Naomi: くださいませ (kudasaimase)
Peter: Very polite.
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) If you’re telling your friend to have good night, おやすみ (oyasumi), but if you’re talking to your boss or customer, おやすみくださいませ (oyasumi kudasaimase).
Peter: Which is something here, maybe at a 旅館 (ryokan), where they take service very seriously.
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) Or expensive hotels.
Peter: Okay. The first part of this phrase, this construction is very clear. Honorific prefix お (o) followed by the masu stem of a verb. Can you give us another example?
Naomi: 入る(hairu)
Peter: “To enter.” Now, Naomi-Sensei, can you give us the masu stem?
Naomi: 入り (hairi)
Peter: We add the honorific prefix お (o) to this...
Naomi: お入り(o-hairi)
Peter: And then we follow it with…
Naomi: お入りくださいませ (o-hairi kudasaimase)
Peter: This is the ultra polite. There’s another level down, which is?
Naomi: お入りください (o-hairi kudasai)
Peter: Now, this is extremely polite too, but this is more common when someone comes to your house.
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)
Peter: Well, I’ve used this expression and I’ve never used the くださいませ (kudasaimase). So, お入りください (o-hairi kudasai) is something you can say to your Japanese friends or someone who comes to visit your house, which would be very, very polite.
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)
Peter: And not overly polite. Whereas oppose the お入りくださいませ (o-hairi kudasaimase) is more business-like.
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)
Peter: Now, this ください (kudasai) and くださいませ (kudasaimase), both of them come from the verb くださる (kudasaru). Now, くださる (kudasaru) is an old verb, so the conjugation is a bit irregular. You know, normally, we mentioned that there are only two verbs that are irregular, 来る (kuru) and する (suru), but くださる (kudasaru) is older Japanese, so it’s irregular too. So, this verb is くださいます (kudasaimasu). So, くださる (kudasaru) is conjugated as くださいます (kudasaimasu) into the masu form. くださいます (kudasaimasu) become less common in Modern Japanese, but the ください (kudasai) and くださいませ (kudasaimase), the two forms that derived from this verb are used in these forms in Modern Japanese.
Naomi: 大変。(Taihen.)
Peter: 大変ですね。(Taihen desu ne.) A little rough.
Naomi: でも、セットでね、覚えれば。(Demo, setto de ne, oboereba.)
Peter: はい。(Hai.)
Naomi: Easiest way is just to remember it as a set phrase.
Peter: But it’s also interesting to see where it comes from.
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) It’s really good to know about the background. ありがとうございます、ピーターさん。(Arigatō gozaimasu, Pītā-san.)
Peter: いえいえ。ありがとうございます、なおみ先生。(Ie ie. Arigatō gozaimasu, Naomi-sensei.)

Outro

Peter: Okay. So, I think that’s gonna do it for today.
Naomi: じゃあ、また。(Jā, mata.)
A: 本日はセールの最終日でーす。 (Honjitsu wa sēru no saishūbi dēsu.)
B: 良い品がたくさんでていますよー。 (Ii shina ga takusan dete imasu yō.)
A: ぜひ、お立ち寄り下さいませー。 (Zehi, o-tachiyori kudasaimasē.)
B: 本日はセールの最終日でございます。 (Honjitsu wa sēru no saishūbi de gozaimasu.)
A: 本日、人気のシューズが最大50%OFFでございます。 (Honjitsu, ninki no shūzu ga saidai go-juppāsento ofu de gozaimasu.)
B: この機会にぜひお求めくださいませー。 (Kono kikai ni zehi o-motome kudasaimasē.)

Kanji

Review & Remember All Kanji from this Lesson

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