Lesson Dialogues
Situation
A conversation between schoolgirls.
PDF version is 
MP3 version is 女1（アキコ）： 今日のテストどうだった？
女1（アキコ）： 今日(きょう)のテストどうだった？
Girl 1 (Akiko): How was the test today?
今日 きょう today
テスト test
女2（サヤカ）： 簡単ではなかったね。
女2（サヤカ）： 簡単(かんたん)ではなかったね。
Girl 2 (Sayaka): It wasn't easy, was it?
簡単 かんたん easy
アキコ：おー、サヤカでもそう思った？
アキコ：おー、サヤカでもそう思(おも)った？
Akiko: Oh, you thought so too Sayaka?
サヤカ：うん。問題1と問題2は簡単だったけどね。アキコは？
サヤカ：うん。問題(もんだい)1と問題(もんだい)2は簡単(かんたん)だったけどね。アキコは？
Sayaka: Yeah. But question 1 and 2 were pretty easy. What did you think, Akiko?
アキコ：うーん、問題1と2は大体わかったけど。うーん、私は全然だよ。
アキコ：うーん、問題(もんだい)1と2は大体(だいたい)わかったけど。うーん、私(わたし)は全然(ぜんぜん)だよ。
Akiko: Hmmm, I did more or less understand question 1 and 2, but I didn’t do well at all.
大体 だいたい more or less; almost; nearly
全然 ぜんぜん not at all
サヤカ：勉強はしたの？
サヤカ：勉強(べんきょう)はしたの？
Sayaka: Did you study for the test?
勉強 べんきょう to study
アキコ：そりゃ勉強したよ。かなり。大学行けるのかな。
アキコ：そりゃ勉強(べんきょう)したよ。かなり。大学(だいがく)行(い)けるのかな。
Akiko: Yeah, sure did! A lot. I wonder if I'll make it into uni.
そりゃ (colloquial form of それは); (type of exclamation); that is; obviously
かなり a lot; considerably; rather
大学 だいがく university
サヤカ：大学なんて選ばなかったらどこでもいけるよ。
サヤカ：大学(だいがく)なんて選(えら)ばなかったらどこでもいけるよ。
Sayaka: If are not picky, you can go anywhere!
選ぶ えらぶ to choose; to be picky
どこでも anywhere
アキコ：どこでもってわけにはいかないでしょ。
アキコ：どこでもってわけにはいかないでしょ。
Akiko: I can’t just go any uni, though.
わけにはいかない can't afford to; impossible to
サヤカ：大学ねー。いろいろ考えるよねー。
サヤカ：大学(だいがく)ねー。いろいろ考(かんが)えるよねー。
Sayaka: University, hmmm... There's a lot to think about, isn't there.
アキコ：考えるよねー。
アキコ：考(かんが)えるよねー。
Akiko: Yeah, I'm thinking about it a lot.
サヤカ：行きたい大学あるんだっけ？
サヤカ：行(い)きたい大学(だいがく)あるんだっけ？
Sayaka: Is there any uni you want to go?
アキコ：あるけど、先生が今のままじゃ行けないって言われた。
アキコ：あるけど、先生(せんせい)が今(いま)のままじゃ行(い)けないって言(い)われた。
Akiko: Yep, but my teacher thinks I won't make it into that one, the way I'm going so far.
今のまま いまのまま the way I'm going so far, how it is so far
サヤカ：そっか。私も今のままでは行けるか行けないかって感じ。
サヤカ：そっか。私(わたし)も今(いま)のままでは行(い)けるか行(い)けないかって感(かん)じ。
Sayaka: Really? Hmmm. The way I'm going, I'm not sure about me either.
そっか I see; Is that so?; Really?
アキコ：サヤカでもそうなんだね。サヤカの行きたい大学って？
アキコ：サヤカでもそうなんだね。サヤカの行(い)きたい大学(だいがく)って？
Akiko: Even you are like that? Where’s the uni you want to go?
でも even
サヤカ：まだ教えない。
サヤカ：まだ教(おし)えない。
Sayaka: I’m not telling you yet.
教える おしえる teach; tell
アキコ：えー？教えてよー！
アキコ：えー？教(おし)えてよー！
Akiko: Boo. Tell me!
サヤカ：そのうちね。今日学校終わったらどうする？
サヤカ：そのうちね。今日(きょう)学校(がっこう)終(お)わったらどうする？
Sayaka: I will eventually. What are you doing today after school?
そのうち eventually
アキコ：テスト終わったし、どうしよっか。
アキコ：テスト終(お)わったし、どうしよっか。
Akiko: Well, tests are finished... What shall I do, hmmm.
どうしようか What shall I do?
サヤカ：図書館で勉強でもする？
サヤカ：図書館(としょかん)で勉強(べんきょう)でもする？
Sayaka: How about studying at the library?
図書館 としょかん the library
アキコ：えー？図書館で勉強？テストが終わったばっかりなのに？
アキコ：えー？図書館(としょかん)で勉強(べんきょう)？テストが終(お)わったばっかりなのに？
Akiko: What? Study at the library? Even though we just finished a test?
ばっかり just; only; 勉強ばっかりしていた (All I did was studying)
サヤカ：なーんてね。大学の話してたからさ。おいしいものでも食べに行こうよ。
サヤカ：なーんてね。大学(だいがく)の話(はなし)してたからさ。おいしいものでも食(た)べに行(い)こうよ。
Sayaka: Just kidding. I guess it was in my mind because we were talking about uni. Let's go eat something instead!
なーんてね Just kidding
おいしい delicious; tasty
アキコ：いいね！食べに行こう！クレープ食べに行かない？
アキコ：いいね！食(た)べに行(い)こう！クレープ食(た)べに行(い)かない？
Akiko: Sounds good! Let's go eat! Wanna go eat some crepes?
いいね Sounds good
クレープ crepes
サヤカ：最近あの新しくオープンしたクレープ屋さん？
サヤカ：最近(さいきん)あの新(あたら)しくオープンしたクレープ屋(や)さん？
Sayaka: At that creperie that just opened?
最近 さいきん recently; lately
新しい あたらしい new; fresh
クレープ屋 クレープや a creperie
アキコ：そうそう！ほかの友達から聞いたんだけど、あそこおいしいらしいよ！行ってみたい！
アキコ：そうそう！ほかの友達(ともだち)から聞(き)いたんだけど、あそこおいしいらしいよ！行(い)ってみたい！
Akiko: That's the one! I heard from another friend that it's really good! I wanna try it out!
そうそう Yeah, that's right
友達 ともだち a friend
サヤカ：そうなんだ！私も行ってみたい！行こう！
サヤカ：そうなんだ！私(わたし)も行(い)ってみたい！行(い)こう！
Sayaka: Really? I wanna try it too! Let's go!
そうなんだ I see; Is that so?; Really?
アキコ：行こう！行こう！他の友達も呼ぶ？エリとか。二人で行く？
アキコ：行(い)こう！行(い)こう！他(ほか)の友達(ともだち)も呼(よ)ぶ？エリとか。二人(ふたり)で行(い)く？
Akiko: Let's go! Wanna invite anyone else? Maybe Eri? Or just the two of us?
他の友達 ほかのともだち other friends, anyone else
呼ぶ よぶ to invite
サヤカ：うーん、今日は二人で行こうよ。
サヤカ：うーん、今日(きょう)は二人(ふたり)で行(い)こうよ。
Sayaka: Yeah, let's go just the two of us today.
うーん Hmm; Yeah
アキコ：オッケー。
アキコ：オッケー。
Akiko: OK.
Step 2 - Take the Quiz
Let's see how many words you remember.
Take the quiz here.
Step 3 - Writing Exercises (Optional)
Let's practice what you learned here.
The questions I have are
1.)あるけど、先生が今のままじゃ行けないって言われた。 what does the じゃ mean here?? The 今のまま is like as it is now but I translated it as teacher said ad it is now I can’t go so the [じゃ] has me lost
2.)そっか。私も今のままでは行けるか行けないかって感じ。same case here with the [では]
3.)最近あの新しくオープンしたクレープ屋さん？
Lastly what would be the difference between
A.))最近あの新しくオープンしたクレープ屋さん？
and
B.)最近あの新しいオープンしたクレープ屋さん？
Why would u say 新しく instead of 新しい in this instance when it’s a noun that follows?
Thanks!
…では works to connect between 今のまま and 行けない.
今のままでは itself means “If I continue with how things are at the moment, …”
じゃ is a casual form of では.
You should check what parts of speech are used.
新しく is an adverb. it modifies the verb オープンした.
新しい is an adjective. It modifies a noun.
If you have difficulty understanding them, maybe the level is not right for you.
You can go back to the level 1 and review the lessons.
1.) So this じゃ is used here a filler word like [さ] or is this the て form +は いけない grammar construction?
I appreciate the advice but this level has been more of a challenge then level 1 and I like challenges as they lead to improvement. I’m sure some questions may be stupid but i learned no questions are stupid as long as someone learns from them. Anyway, Thanks for the help!
As I mentioned, じゃ is a casual form of では, not a filler at all.
In another way of translating 今のままじゃ or 今のままでは is “at this rate.”
今のままでは + 行けない – At this rate, I can’t go (to the college I want)
There is no such thing as a stupid question, but if you fully understand the level 1 lesson, there are some questions you don’t need to ask and we don’t need to answer. Several of the members here used to do level 1 very well. They understand level 4 now, but they still go back to level 1 for quizzes and practice a lot, and their Japanese is impressive.
The leap from level 1 to 2 is kind of ridiculous. I don’t know if I will continue this program after finishing all of the level 1 lessons and coming to this.
I have a couple of suggestions.
– Redoing level 1 lessons without looking at the definitions to see how much you can understand. We are aiming for a level where you can understand level 1 dialogues intuitively without consciously thinking about grammar or definitions.
– Staring with newer level 2 lessons first. Newer lessons have all of the definitions of all of the words, so if you forget level 1 words, you will have the definitions.
I will try the newest level 2 lessons. I’m already able to watch pretty much any level 1 lesson and just understand what they’re saying without needing to think much about it, but in level 2 there are all sorts of unexplained grammatical constructs and articles that I don’t know how to interpret when only the complete sentence translation is given. A perfect example is:
行けるか行けないかって感じ
ikeru ka ikenai katte kanji
There’s no explanation given for “ka” or for “katte” and I didn’t remember running into either of these in level 1. The only translation given for this part of the sentence is:
“I’m not sure about me either.” which is so far from a direct translation of what’s written in japanese that I just don’t know what to do with it. Translated literally, the best I can do is “Able to go (ka?) not able to go, (katte?) feeling.
It’s really a disappointing transition, I was very excited to complete all of the level 1 lessons and move up, only to feel like I ran into a brick wall. Please understand I’ve enjoyed this site very much, I’m just feeling like the path between level 1 and 2 is too rough.
Thanks for your feedback!
This is an old lesson. And based on feedback like yours, we started adding definitions to all of the words and grammar points so I think you will find newer lessons easier.
> 行けるか行けないかって感じ
In this lesson, we didn’t explain か but in newer lessons, we do because again, we got feedback like yours. So if you start from the newest ones and come back to the older ones, you will understand more.
If you need further explanations, please do ask in the comment section (which exists for this exact kind of reason). We often change the translations or add more explanations if someone thinks they need more.
We will also update older lessons in the future because since newer lessons get more views, we prioritise taking care of newer lessons.
Wow, quite a shock coming from L1 lessons to this one but I’m ready for the challenge! 🙂
I think I have learned a lot already, I’m very glad I decided to sign up for this coarse. 🙂
Thank you for your comment! We are glad to hear that.
We hope you’re going to enjoy the level 2 lessons and further.
簡単ではなかったね << Can I also write it as "簡単でわないね" or it wouldn't sound natural?
勉強はしたの？ << If I am to turnn this into Keigo, would be written as "勉強はしてたんですか？" ??
> 簡単ではなかったね << Can I also write it as "簡単でわないね" or it wouldn't sound natural? Should be かんたんではないね。But they are talking about a past even so better to use the past tense. > 勉強はしたの？ << If I am to turnn this into Keigo, would be written as "勉強はしてたんですか？" ?? 勉強はしたんですか？
Thanks for the clarification Yuta. This first lesson from Level 2 is quite intimidating. There’s a lot of grammar/particles to be cover but I guess it’s just getting started. I’ve seen a lot of use for でも in this lesson. Like 図書館で勉強でもする << it's quite hard to grasp the meaningful use of this.
でも is more like a filler in this situation and doesn’t add a lot of meaning
not enough vocabulary for each sentences. i guess its hard to learn vocabulary for this lesson. what do you think?
A lot of them are actually already covered in level one lessons. I suggest you also take level 1 lessons. We won’t explain lower level words because it would be redundant.
サヤカ：大学(だいがく)選(えら)ばなかったらどこでもいけるよ。
its missing (なんて) in the translation. i struggled a lot to catch it.
And whats the meaning of なんて actualy in contextually, anyway
なんて such～; なんて大きなな家だ。 Such a big house; things like; 日本なんて行きたくない。I don’t want to go to a country like Japan.
Just to say that the audio doesn’t work on each sentence (the global one is fine).
It’s working fine. Can you try it again? If not, can you refresh the browser?
It seems to be the case for any first course of each level, for me. Still doens’t work, but I deal with it. (sorry for the delayed reply)
Have you tried clearing the cache? Also, have you tried a different bowser?
It works on a different browser. Doesn’t work on Chrome, but Explorer is fine !
It might work on Chrome if you clear cache and cookies. Maybe worth trying.
We replaced the audio files. I think this works for everybody.