Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Yuichi: ゆういちです。(Yūichi desu.)
Naomi: なおみです。(Naomi desu.)
Peter: Peter here, Premium Lesson No. 24, Below the Bamboo Boulevard. Naomi-Sensei?
Naomi: はい。(Hai.)
Peter: 今日は、すごい写真ですね。(Kyō wa, sugoi shashin desu ne.) Today is some picture, picture of one of the coolest places, probably, in Japan.
Naomi: う〜ん、そうかな。(Ūn, sō ka na.) Coolest place?
Yuichi: One of the most famous streets. That’s true.
Naomi: One of the most popular place among junior high school kids じゃない (ja nai)? And 田舎の人 (inaka no hito).
Peter: Woah! Somebody… なんか今日、冷たいですね。寒気がします。(Nanka kyō, tsumetai desu ne. Samuke ga shimasu.) Like I got a cold chill.
Naomi: うそうそ、うそうそ。(Uso uso, uso uso.)
Peter: Wow!
Naomi: 中学生に人気の場所です。(Chūgakusei ni ninki no basho desu.)
Yuichi: 若い人が行きますね。(Wakai hito ga ikimasu ne.)
Naomi: うん、若いっていうか、子供ですよね。すごい子供とかじゃないですか。(Un, wakai tte iu ka, kodomo desu yo ne. Sugoi kodomo toka ja nai desu ka.)
Peter: そこまでかな。(Soko made ka na.)
Yuichi: いや、でもそんなことは…。(Iya, demo sonna koto wa…)
Naomi: え、小学校の時とかに行かないです…か?(E, shōgakkō no toki toka ni ikanai desu… ka?)
Peter: ええ?(Ee?)
Yuichi: 行かないです。(Ikanai desu.)
Peter: 何かあったんですか、あそこで?(Nani ka atta n desu ka, asoko de?) Did something happen there, Naomi-Sensei?
Yuichi: あ、まあでも、田舎の人は行くかもしれませんね。(A, mā demo, inaka no hito wa iku kamo shiremasen ne.)
Naomi: そうでしょ。アイドルショップとかがあるの、ジャニーズの。(Sō desho. Aidoru shoppu toka ga aru no, Janīzu no.)
Peter: いや、でもなんか fashion とかなんか、色々あるんじゃない?(Iya, demo nanka “fashion” toka nanka, iroiro aru n ja nai?)
Yuichi: はい。(Hai.)
Naomi: それはもうちょっと、表参道の方じゃないですか。(Sore wa mō chotto, Omotesandō no hō ja nai desu ka.)
Peter: Yeah, like there are people like selling, like Abercrombie &Fitch stuff there when it was like a couple of years ago when it’s very popular. Lots of second-hand stores. なおみ先生、言ってるまで。なんかあったんですか。極端ですね。(Naomi-sensei, itte ru made. Nanka atta n desu ka. Kyokutan desu ne.) Like you really hate that place, huh?
Naomi: うん…。だって、なんか…人がいっぱいいるんだもん。(Un… Datte, nanka… hito ga ippai iru n da mon.)
Peter: Yeah, the street is really, really cool.
Naomi: そうです。すごいいいところですよ。(Sō desu. Sugoi ii tokoro desu yo.)
Peter: その調子。ゆういち、一番最近行ったのはいつですか。(Sono chōshi. Yūichi, ichi-ban saikin itta no wa itsu desu ka.) So, have you been there, recently, or when was the last time you were there?
Yuichi: 一年前くらいですかね。(Ichi-nen mae kudai desu ka ne.)
Naomi: ほら、行ってない。(Hora, itte nai.)
Peter: でしょう?(Deshō?)
Naomi: 行ってないじゃん、一年も行ってないんだよ。(Itte nai jan, ichi-nen mo itte nai n da yo.)
Yuichi: でも、たくさんお店があって、面白いと思います。(Demo, takusan o-mise ga atte, omoshiroi to omoimasu.)
Peter: でしょう? (Deshō?) It’s nice. Shakey’sもあるでしょう?(“Shakey’s mo aru deshō?)
Yuichi: Shakey’sもあります。(“Shakey’s” mo arimasu.)
Peter: 食べ放題でしょ?最近行ってないでしょ?(Tabehōdai desho? Saikin itte nai desho?)
Naomi: 行ってない。(Itte nai.)
Peter: So you hadn’t been there a while.
Naomi: そう、昔バイトしてたから、もう行かないですね。(Sō, mukashi baito shite ta kara, mō ikanai desu ne.)
Yuichi: あ〜。(Ā.)
Peter: あ〜、どんどん出…。(Ā, dondon de…) I’m very sorry. Today’s lesson, we’re gonna change it. なおみ先生、心を開いてみてください。(Naomi-sensei, kokoro o hiraite mite kudasai.) Open up, tell us everything.
Naomi: 別に何もないですよ。あの、クレープ屋がありますよね。(Betsu ni nani mo nai desu yo. Ano, kurēpuya ga arimasu yo ne.)
Peter: Stage 1, denial. はい、ゆういち。どうぞ、この写真について想像してみてください。(Hai, Yūichi. Dōzo, kono shashin ni tsuite sōzō shite mite kudasai.)
Naomi: 何を想像すればいいの?(Nani o sōzō sureba ii no?)
Yuichi: はい。何を?(Hai. Nani o?)
Peter: Is there something inside? What’s going on in there? Tell me something I don’t know about that picture? 3..2...1.
Yuichi: う〜んと、コックさんがいますね。(Ūn to, kokku-san ga imasu ne.)
Peter: A cook. There’s a cook, yeah, on the left side. What’s he doing?
Yuichi: 多分、お客さんを呼んでいます。(Tabun, o-kyaku-san o yonde imasu.)
Peter: どんなふうに呼んでいますか。(Donna fū ni yonde imasu ka.) How is he getting customers?
Yuichi: オムライスとハンバーグっていう字が見えるので、「ハンバーグとオムライスが安いよ!安いよ!」(Omuraisu to hanbāgu tte iu ji ga mieru node, “hanbāgu to omuraisu ga yasui yo! Yasui yo!”)
Naomi: そういうお店?(Sō iu o-mise?)
Peter: うまい!(Umai!)
Naomi: えー、だってそれ、シェフでしょう?(Ē, datte sore, shefu deshō?) That’s a chef’s code, right?
Yuichi: あ、安いよりもおいしいっていうことですか。(A, yasui yori mo oishii tte iu koto desu ka.)
Naomi: Mmm.
Peter: So, we have cheap omelet rice, cheap burgers, and Naomi-Sensei didn’t like that at all. So, emotional problems aside, let’s just take a look at today’s conversation. What’s going on in there. Here we go.
DIALOGUE
A: うわー、すごい人の数だなあ。 (Uwā, sugoi hito no kazu da nā.)
B: すごいね。なんでだろうね。 (Sugoi ne. Nande darō ne.)
A: わかった! (Wakatta!)
B: えっ、何? (E, nani?)
A: ここが、有名な竹下通りだよ。ほらっ、あそこに書いてあるよ。 (Koko ga, yūmei na Takeshita-dōri da yo. Hora, asoko ni kaite aru yo.)
B: なるほどー。ここなのね。 (Naruhodō. Koko na no ne.)
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: うわー、すごい人の数だなあ。 (Uwā, sugoi hito no kazu da nā.)
B: すごいね。なんでだろうね。 (Sugoi ne. Nande darō ne.)
A: わかった! (Wakatta!)
B: えっ、何? (E, nani?)
A: ここが、有名な竹下通りだよ。ほらっ、あそこに書いてあるよ。 (Koko ga, yūmei na Takeshita-dōri da yo. Hora, asoko ni kaite aru yo.)
B: なるほどー。ここなのね。 (Naruhodō. Koko na no ne.)
今度は、英語が入ります。(Kondo wa, Eigo ga hairimasu.)
A: うわー、すごい人の数だなあ。 (Uwā, sugoi hito no kazu da nā.)
Wow, there are tons of people here.
B: すごいね。なんでだろうね。 (Sugoi ne. Nande darō ne.)
Yeah, it's crazy. I wonder why.
A: わかった! (Wakatta!)
I know!
B: えっ、何? (E, nani?)
Why? What is it?
A: ここが、有名な竹下通りだよ。ほらっ、あそこに書いてあるよ。 (Koko ga, yūmei na Takeshita-dōri da yo. Hora, asoko ni kaite aru yo.)
This is the famous Takeshita Street. Look, it's written over there.
B: なるほどー。ここなのね。 (Naruhodō. Koko na no ne.)
I see. This is it.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Peter: Naomi-Sensei?
Naomi: はい。(Hai.)
Peter: いかがでしたか。(Ikaga deshita ka.) Was it a little better?
Naomi: うん、いいんじゃないですか。(Un, ii n ja nai desu ka.) I like it.
Peter: よかったですね。(Yokatta desu ne.) That’s very good. Now, what do you think of the conversation? What do you think? Tell us something.
Naomi: Tシャツ見えますか。(Tīshatsu miemasu ka.) Can you see a T-shirt shop there?
Peter: はい、見えます。(Hai, miemasu.)
Naomi: あの、姫Tシャツがありますね。(Ano, hime tīshatsu ga arimasu ne.) Princess T-shirt. 小さくて見えないかな?(Chiisakute mienai ka na?)
Peter: あー、そう。ちょっと待って。見えません。見えますか、ゆういち?(Ā, sō. Chotto matte. Miemasen. Miemasu ka, Yūichi?)
Yuichi: 見えません。(Miemasen.)
Naomi: 写真を大きくすると、Tシャツの漢字が見えるかもしれないですね。(Shashin o ōkiku suru to, tīshatsu no kanji ga mieru kamo shirenai desu ne.)
Peter: So if you download this picture and blow it up, you can then see what Naomi is now talking about, the T-shirt shop and the princess T-shirt.
Naomi: 変なTシャツいっぱいありますもんね。漢字のね。(Hen na tīshatsu ippai arimasu mon ne. Kanji no ne.)
Yuichi: そうですね。なんか、空港に行くとよく見ますよね。外国人の人がたくさん着ています。(Sō desu ne. Nanka. kūkō ni iku to yoku mimasu yo ne. Gaikoku-jin no hito ga takusan kite imasu.) When I go to the airport, I see many foreign tourists wearing these kinds of T-shirts as a souvenir, I think. お土産として、はい。(O-miyage to shite, hai.)
Peter: But the two most popular being 一番 (ichi-ban) and 日本人彼女募集中ですね (Nihon-jin kanojo boshūchū desu ne).
Naomi: Looking for Japanese girlfriends?
Peter: Yeah.
Yuichi: So they understand the meaning?
Peter: I’m pretty sure they do, yeah.
Naomi: Okay.
Peter: When they buy it, the explanation is there.
Naomi: Yeah, but Japanese people are wearing, like T-shirt which has like English word on it, and sometimes, their English word is so messed up, right?
Peter: Yeah, so it works both ways.
Naomi: そうですね。お互いさま。(Sō desu ne. O-tagai-sama.)
Peter: Right.
Yuichi: おお!(Ō!)
Peter: お互いさま (o-tagai-sama), so we tried to cover this in the previous lesson. It was, like, really difficult to explain, so both of us are doing something that’s not too great.
Naomi: Yeah, yeah, destroying the language and culture.
Peter: お互いさま、乾杯!(O-tagai-sama, kanpai!)
Yuichi: お互いさまですね。(O-tagai-sama desu ne.)
Peter: Okay. Let’s take a look at the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Peter: First word
Yuichi: 竹下通り (Takeshita-dōri) [natural native speed]
Peter: Takeshita Boulevard
Yuichi: 竹下通り (Takeshita-dōri) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yuichi: 竹下通り (Takeshita-dōri) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next
Naomi: 数 (kazu) [natural native speed]
Peter: number
Naomi: 数 (kazu) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Naomi: 数 (kazu) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next
Yuichi: ここ (koko) [natural native speed]
Peter: here
Yuichi: ここ (koko) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yuichi: ここ (koko) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next
Naomi: 有名 (yūmei) [natural native speed]
Peter: famous
Naomi: 有名 (yūmei) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Naomi: 有名 (yūmei) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next
Yuichi: ほら (hora) [natural native speed]
Peter: look, see
Yuichi: ほら (hora) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yuichi: ほら (hora) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next
Naomi: あそこ (asoko) [natural native speed]
Peter: over there
Naomi: あそこ (asoko) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Naomi: あそこ (asoko) [natural native speed]
Peter: Next
Yuichi: なるほど (naruhodo) [natural native speed]
Peter: I see
Yuichi: なるほど (naruhodo) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Yuichi: なるほど (naruhodo) [natural native speed]
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Peter: Now, let’s take a look at some of the words and phrases used in this lesson. なおみ先生、お願いします。(Naomi-sensei, onegai shimasu.)
Naomi: なるほど (naruhodo)
Peter: “I see.” Now, this phrase is used when the speaker wants to show one’s empathy, understanding or basically, agreement.
Naomi &Yuichi: なるほど。(Naruhodo.)
Naomi: The next phrase is…
Peter: Wait, wait, we’re not gonna explain this a little more and why that was funny right now? Now, the reason this is funny when Yuichi-San and Naomi said なるほど (naruhodo) is that it was like as if they were learning the meaning of the word, so it’s a little bit…
Yuichi: In English.
Peter: Yeah. So, there’s a little play on that, but when you kind of learn something new or you come to the realization, you finally understand something, ah, なるほど (naruhodo).
Naomi: なんか (nanka), as an 相槌 (aizuchi) or backchanneling, this word is often used.
Peter: Yeah.
Naomi: なるほどね、ふーん。なるほど。なるほど〜。(Naruhodo ne, fūn. Naruhodo. Naruhodō.)
Peter: I have a really good example. Of course we love the Chiba Lotte Marines, right? And there’s Lotte Candy and Lotte is a very, very big chain in Japan selling confectionaries. Now, I don’t know why it never hit me, but there’s also a fastfood chain called Lotteria. Basically, the Japanese name is…
Naomi: ロッテリア (Rotteria)
Peter: And I never put the two and two together.
Naomi: Really?
Peter: Yeah.
Naomi: うそ?誰でも知ってるよね。(Uso? Dare demo shitte ru yo ne.) Everyone knows! Even my dog knows.
Peter: ひどくない?なおみの気持ち、わかってきました。(Hidokunai? Naomi no kimochi, wakatte kimashita.) I understand how Naomi feels. なんかいい気持ち。(Nanka ii kimochi.) Anyway, so when I finally put two and two together, it was like, ah, なるほど (naruhodo), like I had some basic information. The name, like Lotte, the name, the big brand is in the name, Lotteria. It was something I could have figured out on my own, but I just never put two and two together. So, in that case, it was なるほど (naruhodo), like I had some kind of general information that I could have made, put two and two together, but I just didn’t. I think that’s the difference between なるほど (naruhodo) and 勉強になりました (benkyō ni narimashita), like you have some kind of general information, or it’s something that you’ve been in contact with that you finally come to a realization.
Naomi: なるほどね。(Naruhodo ne.)
Peter: 今日はずいぶん面白いですね。(Kyō wa zuibun omoshiroi desu ne.)
Naomi: 何でだろうね。(Nande darō ne.) What’s the next phrase?
Yuichi: Whoa!
Peter: Whoa! すごい、どうぞ。(Sugoi, dōzo.) I wonder why.
Naomi: 何で (nande), why. どうして、という意味ですね。(Dōshite, to iu imi desu ne.) だろう (darō) means “I guess.” ね (ne) is a sentence-ending particle. なので、どうしてでしょうね、ということですね。(Nanode, dōshite deshō ne, to iu koto desu ne.)
Peter: “I wonder why.” ね (ne).
Naomi: In a casual situation, we say 何でだろうね (nande darō ne), but in a polite situation, we say…
Yuichi: どうしてでしょうね。(Dōshite deshō ne.)
Peter: “I wonder why.”
Naomi: I think it’s about like 3 years ago.「何でだろう〜、何でだろう」っていう歌が流行りましたよね。(“Nande darō, nande darō” tte iu uta ga hayarimashita yo ne.)
Yuichi: そうですね。何で流行ったんだろう、っていう感じですね。(Sō desu ne. Nande hayatta n darō, tte iu kanji desu ne.)
Naomi: ああ、「何でだろう」が?(Ā, “nande darō” ga?)
Yuichi: はい。(Hai.)
Peter: 寒いね。頑張りましたけどね。(Samui ne. Ganbarimashita kedo ne.)
Yuichi: はい。(Hai.)
Peter: So, nice try, but… So, did everyone catch Yuichi’s attempt that upon, “I wonder why, wonder why,” was a big hit or was popular.
Naomi:「何でだろう」が人気があったのは、何でだろう。(“Nande darō” ga ninki ga atta no wa, nande darō.)
Yuichi: そういうことです。(Sō iu koto desu.)
Peter: Wow, lots of negative energy today. I think it’s coming from Naomi, like the whole start of the show. すいませんでした (suimasen deshita), listeners. ね、ね?(Ne, ne?) I like happy Naomi. Okay, let’s take a look at the grammar point.

Lesson focus

Naomi: Today’s grammar point is なぁ(nā).
Peter: A sentence-ending particle that expresses the speaker’s excitement, surprise, or admiration. Now, in today’s dialogue, we had…
Naomi: すごい人の数だなあ。 (Sugoi hito no kazu da nā.)
Peter: “Wow, there are a lot of people.” Now, you can easily guess what the なぁ(nā) translates to in this context. Take out the なぁ(nā) and give the sentence one more time, we’ll give you the translation.
Naomi: すごい人の数だ。 (Sugoi hito no kazu da.)
Peter: “There are a lot of people.”
Naomi: なぁ(nā)
Peter: Wow, there are a lot of people.
Naomi: なるほどね。(Naruhodo ne.)
Peter: This is used by male speakers quite a bit. Can we have a sample sentence?
Yuichi: 昨日の寿司はおいしかったなぁ。 (Kinō no sushi wa oishikatta nā.)
Peter: I just don’t feel it. And that’s the thing, なぁ(nā) is something you used when, you know, you really put emotion into it.
Naomi: 昨日の寿司はおいしかったなぁ。(Kinō no sushi wa oishikatta nā.)
Peter: ああ、感じましたよ。(Ā, kanjimashita yo.) I thought so. Yes, that sushi was so good!
Yuichi: おいしそうでしたね。(Oishisō deshita ne.)
Peter: Now, you gotta work on your なぁ(nā). So, one more example, please.
Yuichi: きれいな桜だなぁ。 (Kirei na sakura da nā.)
Peter: Nice. “How beautiful our cherry blossoms.” This grammar point is for informal situations. Now, you kind of don’t wanna use this in a business meeting, do you?
Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.)
Peter: For example, if you call a business associate you haven’t talked to in a while. 久しぶりだなぁ (hisashiburi da nā) is not something you really wanna use.
Naomi: 久しぶりですね。(Hisashiburi desu ne.)
Peter: There we go. So, it’s an informal sentence-ending particle, in a way, resembles the usage of ね (ne) a lot.

Outro

Peter: Okay. Now, inside the PDF, there’s a detailed writeup explaining the rest of what’s going on. Stop by the site, get the picture, see if you can find that Hemi, the Hemi T-shirt. I’d like to know more about what you’re talking about.
Naomi: え (e), you didn’t know what I was talking about and you didn’t stop me?
Peter: I usually don’t.
Naomi: ひどい。ひどいなぁ。(Hidoi. Hidoi nā.)
Peter: そう。(Sō.) And there’s a difference, ひどいなぁ (hidoi nā) like “how…”
Naomi: Dare.
Peter: “...nasty are you.” “How dare you.” “How nasty of you.” “How bad are you!” As opposed to difficult ひどい (hidoi).
Naomi: でもまあ (demo mā), I use ひどい (hidoi) as an 相槌 (aizuchi) word to Peter.
Peter: Yeah. And 相槌 (aizuchi) of course is…?
Naomi: Backchanneling.
Peter: Which of course is using sounds to acknowledge someone’s speaking or someone’s actions or that…
Naomi: Showing my disagreement.
Peter: That too. Okay, that’s gonna do it for today.
A: うわー、すごい人の数だなあ。 (Uwā, sugoi hito no kazu da nā.)
B: すごいね。なんでだろうね。 (Sugoi ne. Nande darō ne.)
A: わかった! (Wakatta!)
B: えっ、何? (E, nani?)
A: ここが、有名な竹下通りだよ。ほらっ、あそこに書いてあるよ。 (Koko ga, yūmei na Takeshita-dōri da yo. Hora, asoko ni kaite aru yo.)
B: なるほどー。ここなのね。 (Naruhodō. Koko na no ne.)

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