Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Introduction
John: Asking How Someone Is. In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask and answer the question “How are you?” in Japanese.
Body
John: Here's the way to ask "How are you?" in Japanese. It literally means “Are you fine?”
Risa: [Normal] 元気ですか。(Genki desu ka.)
John: First is a word meaning "fine."
Risa: [Normal] 元気 [Slow] 元気 (genki)
John: Next is the word meaning "are."
Risa: [Normal] です [Slow] です(desu)
John: Last is the question particle.
Risa: [Normal] か [Slow] か(ka)
John: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the formal question meaning "How are you?"
Risa: [Slow] 元気ですか。 [Normal] 元気ですか。
John: Now, imagine you’re speaking to your friend. Here's the informal way to ask "How are you?"
Risa: [Normal] 元気?(Genki?)
John: This expression has only one word literally meaning "fine."
Risa: [Normal] 元気? [Slow] 元気? (genki?)
John: Listen again to the informal expression meaning "How are you?" Please note the rising intonation.
Risa: [Slow] 元気? [Normal]元気?
John: Here's a response meaning "I'm fine. Thank you." or literally "Yes, I'm fine."
Risa: [Normal] はい、元気です。(Hai, genki desu.)
John: First is a word meaning "yes."
Risa: [Normal] はい [Slow] はい (hai)
John: Next is the word meaning "fine."
Risa: [Normal] 元気 [Slow] 元気(genki)
John: Last is the word meaning "am."
Risa: [Normal] です [Slow] です(desu)
John: Listen again to the response - "Yes, I'm fine."
Risa: [Slow] はい、元気です。 [Normal] はい、元気です。
John: Here's a response meaning "not so well" or literally “no, not so well.”
Risa: [Normal] いいえ、あまり。(Iie, amari.)
John: First is a word meaning "no."
Risa: [Normal] いいえ [Slow] いいえ(iie)
John: Next is the word meaning "not very."
Risa: [Normal] あまり [Slow] あまり(amari)
John: Listen again to the response - "Not so well."
Risa: [Slow] いいえ、あまり。 [Normal] いいえ、あまり。
Cultural Insight
John: Now, it's time for a quick cultural insight.
Risa: To reply to the greeting "How are you?" in Japanese, people sometimes say お蔭様で (O-kage-sama de), especially in a formal situation. It's almost the same as "I'm fine. Thank you." in English. O-kage-sama de means something like "thanks to you."

Outro

John: And that's all for this lesson. Don't forget to check out the lesson notes, and we'll see you in the next lesson!
Risa: またね!(mata ne!)

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