Learn to say could not in Japanese
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| Do you know how to talk about what did or didn’t happen in Japanese? |
| You'll learn how in just a moment. |
| Hi, my name is Emiri, and this is Three Step Japanese by JapanesePod101.com. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn how to talk about what did or didn’t happen through a quick conversation. |
| Let's look at the dialogue. |
| As you listen, pay attention to how they ask about the topic and how the other person responds. |
| ながおかさん､イノベ社から 何か れんらくが ありましたか｡ |
| Nagaoka san, Inobe sha kara nani ka renraku ga arimashita ka. |
| はい､きのう メールが 来ました｡ |
| Hai, kinou meeru ga kimashita. |
| いいへんじ ですよね? |
| Ii henji desu yo ne? |
| いえ､ざんねんです｡ けいやくは できませんでした｡ |
| Ie, zannen desu. Keiyaku wa dekimasen deshita. |
| え? どうしてですか｡ わたしたちの プレゼンは せいこうしましたよね｡ わたしたち 何か しっぱいを しましたか｡ |
| E? Doushite desu ka. Watashitachi no purezen wa seikou shimashita yo ne. Watashitachi nani ka shippai o shimashita ka. |
| いえ､わたしたちは がんばりましたよ｡ ほんとうに ざんねんです｡ |
| Ie, watashitachi wa ganbarimashita yo. Hontou ni zannen desu. |
| Let's break it down. |
| ながおかさん､イノベ社から 何か れんらくが ありましたか｡ |
| Nagaoka san, Inobe sha kara nani ka renraku ga arimashita ka. |
| Ms. Nagaoka, have you received any communication from Inobe Company? |
| はい､きのう メールが 来ました｡ |
| Hai, kinou meeru ga kimashita. |
| Yes, I received an email yesterday. |
| いいへんじ ですよね? |
| Ii henji desu yo ne? |
| It was a good reply, right? |
| いえ､ざんねんです｡ |
| Ie, zannen desu. |
| No, unfortunately. |
| After that is our focus for the lesson. |
| けいやくは できませんでした｡ |
| keiyaku wa dekimasen deshita. |
| First is the noun phrase, けいやくは (keiyaku wa), meaning "the contract." けいやく (slow version - breakdown by syllable). けいやく. |
| Next is the verb phrase, できませんでした (dekimasen deshita), meaning "couldn't do." However, in this sentence, we translate it as "couldn't secure." できませんでした (slow version - breakdown by syllable). できませんでした. |
| First is できません (dekimasen), meaning "cannot do." できません (slow version - breakdown by syllable). できません. |
| Next is でした (deshita), meaning "was." でした (slow version - breakdown by syllable). でした. |
| でした comes from the verb です (desu), meaning "is." |
| All together, it's けいやくは できませんでした｡ (keiyaku wa dekimasen deshita). "We couldn’t secure the contract." けいやくは できませんでした｡ |
| え? どうしてですか｡ わたしたちの プレゼンは せいこうしましたよね｡ わたしたち 何か しっぱいを しましたか｡ |
| E? Doushite desu ka. Watashitachi no purezen wa seikou shimashita yo ne. Watashitachi nani ka shippai o shimashita ka. |
| Huh? Why? Our presentation was successful, right? Did we make some mistake? |
| いえ､わたしたちは がんばりましたよ｡ ほんとうに ざんねんです｡ |
| Ie, watashitachi wa ganbarimashita yo. Hontou ni zannen desu. |
| No, we did our best. It’s truly unfortunate. |
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