Learn how to form the six most popular question words; who, what, when, where, why, and how
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Naomi: こんにちは！なおみです！(Kon’nichiwa! Naomi desu!) |
| Kat: Hi everyone, Kat here! When will you stop asking me questions in Japanese, thank you very much for joining us! |
| Naomi: Kat-san, please tell us what we're going to learn in this lesson. |
| Kat: In this lesson we're going to review question words. Being able to ask questions is really important in any foreign language as I’m sure you will agree. |
| Naomi: Agreed! |
| Kat: You'll also learn how to say the days of the week. |
| Naomi: Where does this conversation take place and who is it between? |
| Kat: This conversation takes place at school, and we have Kent, Madoka, Shiroyama-kun, and Emi-senpai in the conversation. |
| Naomi: What level of Japanese are they speaking? |
| Kat: They all speak informally with each other, except when they are speaking to Emi-senpai. OK, so now, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 白山 (Shiroyama):おそようございます。ケントさん。(Osoyō gozaimasu. Kento-san.) |
| ケント (Kento):あー、ごめん！本当にごめん！(Ā, gomen! Hontō ni gomen!) |
| ケント (Kento):次は行く。絶対行く。(Tsugi wa iku. Zettai iku.) |
| まどか (Madoka):無理、無理。(Muri, muri.) |
| ケント (Kento):次の練習はいつ？(Tsugi no renshū wa itsu?) |
| 白山 (Shiroyama):月曜の朝。(Getsu-yō no asa.) |
| 青田エミ (Aota Emi):おはよー。(Ohayō.) |
| 白山 (Shiroyama)・まどか (Madoka):おはようございます。エミ先輩。(Ohayō gozaimasu. Emi-senpai.) |
| ケント (Kento):おーっす。(Ōssu.) |
| 白山 (Shiroyama)・まどか (Madoka):ケント！(Kento!) |
| 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.) |
| 白山 (Shiroyama):おそようございます。ケントさん。(Osoyō gozaimasu. Kento-san.) |
| ケント (Kento):あー、ごめん！本当にごめん！(Ā, gomen! Hontō ni gomen!) |
| ケント (Kento):次は行く。絶対行く。(Tsugi wa iku. Zettai iku.) |
| まどか (Madoka):無理、無理。(Muri, muri.) |
| ケント (Kento):次の練習はいつ？(Tsugi no renshū wa itsu?) |
| 白山 (Shiroyama):月曜の朝。(Getsu-yō no asa.) |
| 青田エミ (Aota Emi):おはよー。(Ohayō.) |
| 白山 (Shiroyama)・まどか (Madoka):おはようございます。エミ先輩。(Ohayō gozaimasu. Emi-senpai.) |
| ケント (Kento):おーっす。(Ōssu.) |
| 白山 (Shiroyama)・まどか (Madoka):ケント！(Kento!) |
| 今度は英語が入ります。(Kondo wa Eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| 白山 (Shiroyama):おそようございます。ケントさん。(Osoyō gozaimasu. Kento-san.) |
| Kat: Good morning, Kent. |
| ケント (Kento):あー、ごめん！本当にごめん！(Ā, gomen! Hontō ni gomen!) |
| Kat: Ah, sorry! I'm really sorry! |
| ケント (Kento):次は行く。絶対行く。(Tsugi wa iku. Zettai iku.) |
| Kat: I'll go next time. I'll definitely go! |
| まどか (Madoka):無理、無理。(Muri, muri.) |
| Kat: You so won't! |
| ケント (Kento):次の練習はいつ？(Tsugi no renshū wa itsu?) |
| Kat: When's the next practice? |
| 白山 (Shiroyama):月曜の朝。(Getsu-yō no asa.) |
| Kat: Monday morning. |
| 青田エミ (Aota Emi):おはよー。(Ohayō.) |
| Kat: Morning! |
| 白山 (Shiroyama)・まどか (Madoka):おはようございます。エミ先輩。(Ohayō gozaimasu. Emi-senpai.) |
| Kat: Good morning, Emi-senpai. |
| ケント (Kento):おーっす。(Ōssu.) |
| Kat: O-su. |
| 白山 (Shiroyama)・まどか (Madoka):ケント！(Kento!) |
| Kat: Kent! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Kat: You know, I thought Kent was getting better at remembering to use keigo after making all of those mistakes before... |
| Naomi: ねぇ。(Nee.) Yeah, I think he was too excited about the new word he learned, おーっす (ōssu). |
| Kat: Remember おーっす (ōssu) is like "sup!" or “what’s up?” or I don’t know, do we, don’t we say “what’s up?” any more, do we? Or what do we say? “How’s it going?” is a really casual guy’s greeting. So you really shouldn't use this to your 先輩 (senpai), bosses or teachers. |
| Naomi: Right. So be careful when you pick up new words. |
| Kat: Because I know what it is like to get a new word I want to use all the time, believe me I know, but be careful! |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) |
| Kat: By the way, Naomi-sensei, I'm curious about the あいさつ (aisatsu) Shiroyama-kun used. おそようございます。(Osoyō gozaimasu.) It sounds like おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu)...? But, it’s a little different. |
| Naomi: Yeah, this is actually said as a joke. The real way to say “good morning” is of course おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu), right? Which contains the word 早い (hayai), for "early". |
| Kat: I see so, in おそようございます (osoyō gozaimasu). They mix in the word for late, おそい (osoi), instead of 早い (hayai) early, is that it? |
| Naomi: Right, exactly. You combine おそい (osoi) and おはよう (ohayō) and get… おそよう (osoyō). おそようございます！(Osoyō gozaimasu!) |
| Kat: I suppose that's kind of clever. |
| Naomi: It’s not a very common word, but… |
| Kat: Ah, because you’ve seen it before we, when we were [ ] you were saying that really older man and classroom teachers would say as a kind of teasing, |
| Naomi: Right. |
| Kat: So that you finally turned up. Ah in English the teachers would say, thank you for joining us. I used to get that all the time my [ ]. The teacher would be like “thank you for joining us, Ms. so and so or Mr. so and so”, it’s kind of like on purpose, using really respectful language to you, you know, in a sarcastic way. |
| Naomi: Ah, I see. |
| Kat: So, I guess that I could have had this おそようございます (osoyō gozaimasu), right? |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Kat: OK, so now, let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we are going to see is |
| Naomi: 本当に (hontō ni) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: really, truly |
| Naomi: 本当に (hontō ni) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 本当に (hontō ni) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: And next we have |
| Naomi: 無理 (muri) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: impossible, unreasonable |
| Naomi: 無理 (muri) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 無理 (muri) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: And next. |
| Naomi: 練習 (renshū) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: practice |
| Naomi: 練習 (renshū) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 練習 (renshū) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: And next. |
| Naomi: いつ (itsu) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: when |
| Naomi: いつ (itsu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: いつ (itsu) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: And finally. |
| Naomi: 月曜日 (getsu-yōbi) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: Monday |
| Naomi: 月曜日 (getsu-yōbi) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 月曜日 (getsu-yōbi) [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Kat: OK, so now, let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. And the first phrase we are going to look at is |
| Naomi: 本当に (hontō ni) |
| Kat: “Really.” This is the phrase that can be used in front of adjectives to emphasize them. |
| Naomi: Yes, as in 本当に楽しい (hontō ni tanoshii). |
| Kat: “It's really fun!” It can also be used just as an exclamation. 本当に？ (Hontō ni?) Really? So if someone tells you something surprising or exciting, you can respond with this. |
| Naomi: 本当に？ (Hontō ni?) |
| Kat: Really? |
| Naomi: It's actually very similar to the slang phrase we introduced in the last lesson, まじで (maji de). |
| Kat: Which is kind of like “no way!” I would say it’s used in exactly the same situations, but, 本当に (hontō ni) is much more polite and more socially acceptable, so if you are in doubt, please use 本当に (hontō ni) instead. Now that I think about it, it might have made sense to introduce 本当に (hontō ni) before まじで (maji de). |
| Naomi: I guess you're right. |
| Kat: And the next word is? |
| Naomi: むり (muri) |
| Kat: "Impossible”, “unreasonable". Now, this word is used to mean that something is literally impossible, or can not be done. But in casual conversation it has more of a nuance of "no way!" or "yeah right!", in a displeasing way. Wouldn't you say, Naomi-sensei? |
| Naomi: そうね。(Sō ne.) I agree! In the dialogue, when Kent said he would go to the next soccer practice, Madoka said… むり、むり。(Muri, muri.) |
| Kat: "You so won't!" She's basically saying "it's impossible for you to get up that early and go!" So, she said impossible, impossible which means, you know, he won’t be able to go. Young people might also use it to describe stuff they really can't stand, right? |
| Naomi: Ah.. you mean the sentences like… 納豆ムリ！(Nattō muri!) |
| Kat: Literally, Natto is impossible. Maybe the best translation would be "I can't handle Natto" or "I can't stand Natto." |
| Naomi: Some of you already know 納豆 (nattō) is a fermented sticky slimy soybeans. |
| Kat: Um, sounds amazing! |
| Naomi: It's actually one of the most notorious Japanese foods among non-Japanese! |
| Kat: I’d actually like to add one thing about むり (muri), I’m 23, I mean I would say I’m quite young, but I still wouldn’t say 納豆はムリ (nattō wa muri). Everytime I hear someone say that, it’s someone who is in 中学校 (chūgakkō), like maybe 13, 14, 15. So just like you know, it’s a very like young expression, so just take care of that is what I’d like to say. |
| OK, and the next word is...? |
| Naomi: 練習 (renshū) |
| Kat: “Practice.” |
| Naomi: 練習 (renshū) by itself is a noun. If you add する (suru) to it, it becomes a verb - to practice, 練習する (renshū suru). |
| Kat: Can we hear a phrase that uses it? |
| Naomi: Sure. This is used a lot with sports, as you can imagine. For example, サッカーを練習する (sakkā o renshū suru). |
| Kat: "To practice soccer." The thing that you're going to practice is followed by the particle を (o). |
| Naomi: テニスを練習する (tenisu o renshū suru) |
| Kat: "To play tennis".or “to practice tennis.” |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Kat: In this lesson, you'll review question words in Japanese. Naomi-sensei, what do you say we review the most common question words? |
| Naomi: Sounds good! |
| Kat: It's really important to be able to ask questions in a foreign language, so we want to make sure you have these down. OK. |
| Naomi: Are you ready? Here they are. なに (nani) or なん (nan). |
| Kat: What. |
| Naomi: いつ (itsu) |
| Kat: When. |
| Naomi: どこ (doko) |
| Kat: Where. |
| Naomi: どう (dō) |
| Kat: How. |
| Naomi: なんで (nande) or どうして (dōshite) |
| Kat: Why. |
| Naomi: だれ (dare) |
| Kat: Who. |
| Naomi: That's a lot of question words! |
| Kat: A lot of them should sound familiar, though! You can also review them with the chart in the Lesson Notes. Now, let's focus on the one we saw in the dialogue for this lesson. |
| Naomi: いつ (itsu) |
| Kat: When. There are two patterns for using いつ (itsu). These patterns actually apply to all question words, but we're going to use いつ (itsu) in our examples. One is the pattern of [noun] はいつ？([noun] wa itsu?) When is [noun]? |
| Naomi: Here's a sample sentence. パーティーはいつ？(Pātī wa itsu?) |
| Kat: "When's the party?" Let's break down this sentence. |
| Naomi: パーティー (pātī) |
| Kat: Party. |
| Naomi: は (wa) |
| Kat: Topic marking particle. |
| Naomi: いつ (itsu) |
| Kat: When. |
| Naomi: パーティーはいつ？(Pātī wa itsu?) |
| Kat: "When's the party?" There was also a similar example in the dialogue, right? |
| Naomi: Yes! In the dialogue, Kent said… 次の練習はいつ？(Tsugi no renshū wa itsu?) |
| Kat: "When's the next practice?" Let's break down this sentence too. |
| Naomi: 次の (tsugi no) |
| Kat: Next. |
| Naomi: 練習 (renshū) |
| Kat: Practice. |
| Naomi: は (wa) |
| Kat: Topic marking particle. |
| Naomi: いつ (itsu) |
| Kat: When. |
| Naomi: 次の練習はいつ？(Tsugi no renshū wa itsu?) |
| Kat: "When's the next practice?" So that's the first pattern, [noun] はいつ ([noun] wa itsu). |
| The next one is いつ (itsu) plus verb. When are you going to [verb]? Can we hear an example of that? |
| Naomi: Sure. So, instead of "when is the practice", you want to use a verb and say "when are you going to practice?" That would be… いつ練習する？(Itsu renshū suru?) |
| Kat: "When are you going to practice?" So, the question word comes first, followed by the verb. This is similar to the word order in English. |
| Naomi: Right. Remember to use rising intonation when asking questions like these. |
| Kat: Okay, now let's practice these two patterns! The first pattern we'll practice is asking when something is. Naomi-sensei, please could you give us a sentence we can try translating into Japanese? |
| Naomi: Sure. The sentence is "when is the test?" |
| Kat: Remember that for test, we can say テスト (tesuto). |
| [pause] |
| Kat: Okay, And the answer is? |
| Naomi: テストはいつ？(Tesuto wa itsu?) |
| Kat: テスト (tesuto) is test, then we have the topic marking particle, followed by いつ (itsu). テストはいつ？(Tesuto wa itsu?) |
| Naomi: Did you get that one right everyone? Remember that it's noun plus は (wa), plus いつ (itsu). |
| Kat: Now, let's practice using いつ (itsu) with verbs. We're going to see which verbs you remember as well! |
| Naomi: The first phrase is "when are you going to eat?" These are only two words in Japanese. |
| [pause] |
| Naomi: Okay, here's the hint. Remember that "eat" is 食べる (taberu). |
| [2nd pause] |
| Kat: Did you get the answer? Naomi-sensei, how would you then say "when are you going to eat?" |
| Naomi: いつ食べる？(Itsu taberu?) いつ (itsu) |
| Kat: When. |
| Naomi: Plus 食べる (taberu) |
| Kat: To eat. Remember that when using a verb, the pattern is いつ (itsu) plus verb. Let's try one more. The next phrase is "when are you going to wake up?" |
| [pause] |
| Naomi: Okay, here's the hint. Remember that "to wake up" is 起きる (okiru). |
| [2nd pause] |
| Kat: Did you get the answer? Naomi-sensei, how would you say "when are you going to wake up?" |
| Naomi: いつ起きる？ (Itsu okiru?) いつ (itsu) |
| Kat: When. |
| Naomi: Plus 起きる (okiru). |
| Kat: To wake up. |
Outro |
| Kat: Great, how did you do? Okay everyone, that's all for this lesson! |
| Naomi: Thanks for listening. |
| Kat: See you next time! |
| Naomi: じゃまた！(Ja mata!) |
| 白山 (Shiroyama):おそようございます。ケントさん。(Osoyō gozaimasu. Kento-san.) |
| ケント (Kento):あー、ごめん！本当にごめん！(Ā, gomen! Hontō ni gomen!) |
| ケント (Kento):次は行く。絶対行く。(Tsugi wa iku. Zettai iku.) |
| まどか (Madoka):無理、無理。(Muri, muri.) |
| ケント (Kento):次の練習はいつ？(Tsugi no renshū wa itsu?) |
| 白山 (Shiroyama):月曜の朝。(Getsu-yō no asa.) |
| 青田エミ (Aota Emi):おはよー。(Ohayō.) |
| 白山 (Shiroyama)・まどか (Madoka):おはようございます。エミ先輩。(Ohayō gozaimasu. Emi-senpai.) |
| ケント (Kento):おーっす。(Ōssu.) |
| 白山 (Shiroyama)・まどか (Madoka):ケント！(Kento!) |
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