Lesson Dialogues
PDF version is 
MP3 version is Situation 1
Two women are talking about food.
女性1：ちょっと、いい？
女性1：ちょっと、いい？
Woman 1: Can I say something?
ちょっと (just) a little; a bit; (conversation filler)
良い よい、いい good
女性2：なーに？
女性2：なーに？
Woman 2: What is it?
何 なに what
女性1：これ、もう食べた？
女性1：これ、もう食(た)べた？
Woman 1: Have you tried this?
これ this
もう already; soon; again; strengthens expression of an emotion
食べた たべた past tense of 食(た)べる
食べる たべる to eat
女性2：ううん、まだ食べてない。
女性2：ううん、まだ食(た)べてない。
Woman 2: No, I haven't tried it yet.
ううん nuh-uh; no
まだ yet; still
食べて たべて te-form of 食(た)べる; te-form is often used to connect to other expressions; te-form may indicate a command: 食(た)べて！Please eat!
～て(い)ない negative form of ～て(い)る
～て(い)る expresses continuation; 食(た)べてる。 I'm eating.; てる is more colloquial than ている
女性1：わたしも、まだなんだ。
女性1：わたしも、まだなんだ。
Woman 1: I haven't either.
も too; also
まだ yet; still
～んだ often used in spoken Japanese as a colloquial ending; 食(た)べるんだ (I'll eat) is more colloquial than 食(た)べる (I'll eat); also can be used to express realisation: えっ、それ食(た)べるんだ！What? You eat that?
女性2：お！一緒に食べよう。
女性2：お！一緒(いっしょ)に食(た)べよう。
Woman 2: Let's try it together.
一緒 いっしょ together; with
食べよう たべよう よう form of 食(た)べる; ～よう expresses suggestion; let's __
Situation 2
Two friends are talking on a train station platform in the morning.
マユ： おはよう、ナオミ。
マユ： おはよう、ナオミ。
Mayu: Good morning, Naomi.
おはよう good morning
ナオミ：おはよう、マユ。
ナオミ：おはよう、マユ。
Naomi: Good morning, Mayu.
マユ： あーあ、会社、行きたくないなー。
マユ： あーあ、会社(かいしゃ)、行(い)きたくないなー。
Mayu: Ah, I don't want to go to work.
会社 かいしゃ company; firm
行きたくない いきたくない negative form of 行(い)きたい
行きたい いきたい たい form of 行(い)く; ～たい expresses desire; I want to __
行く いく to go; to come
～な expressions emotions; emphasies the emotion; soften the sentence; often なー; 日本へ行きたいな。I want to go to Japan; かわいいなー。It's so cute.
ナオミ：仕事、大変なの？
ナオミ：仕事(しごと)、大変(たいへん)なの？
Naomi: Are things tough on the job?
仕事(する) しごと(する) work, job; to work
大変 たいへん serious; terrible; hard; difficult
～の feminine ending; 食(た)べるの。 (I'll eat) sounds feminine compared to 食(た)べる。; However, の？ in a question sentence does not always sound feminine.
マユ： うん、ちょっとね。
マユ： うん、ちょっとね。
Mayu: Yeah, a little.
うん yes; yeah
～ね shares information or experiences; softens a sentence; expects an agreement; isn't it?; don't you?; 雨だね。Oh, it's raining (as you can see).
Situation 3
A woman has noticed something on a man's face.
女性： ん？顔に何か付いてる。
女性(じょせい)：ん？顔(かお)に何(なに)か付(つ)いてる。
Woman: Hm? There's something on your face.
顔 かお face
何か なにか something
付いて ついて te-form of 付(つ)く; te-form is often used to connect to other expressions; te-form may indicate a command: 食(た)べて！Please eat!
付く つく to stick; to be stained with
～て(い)る expresses continuation; 食(た)べてる。 I'm eating.; てる is more colloquial than ている
男性： 本当？
男性(だんせい)：本当(ほんとう)？
Man: Really?
本当 ほんとう truth; right; really
女性： うん。目の上。
女性(じょせい)：うん。目(め)の上(うえ)。
Woman: Yeah. Above your eye.
目 め eye; ordinal number suffix (-th)
の of; in; at; for; by
上 うえ top; above; up; on
男性： あ！本当だ！取って、取って。
男性(だんせい)：あ！本当(ほんとう)だ！取(と)って、取(と)って。
Man: Oh, you're right. Get it, get it.
取って とって te-form of 取(と)る; te-form is often used to connect to other expressions; te-form may indicate a command: 食(た)べて！Please eat!
取る とる to take; to get; to have; to pass
女性： はい、取ったよ。
女性(じょせい)：はい、取(と)ったよ。
Woman: Okay, I got it.
はい yes; all right
取った とった past tense of 取(と)る
～よ introduces new information; emphasises a sentence; 朝だよ！It's morning!
男性： ありがとう。
男性(だんせい)：ありがとう。
Man: Thanks.
ありがとう thank you; thanks
Situation 4
A woman and a man are talking on the fashion floor of a department store.
女性：見て！あのバッグ！
女性(じょせい)：見(み)て！あのバッグ！
Woman: Look! That bag!
見て みて te-form of 見(み)る; te-form is often used to connect to other expressions; te-form may indicate a command: 食(た)べて！Please eat!
見る みる to see; to look at; to watch; to check
あの that; those
バッグ bag
男性：あのバッグ？
男性(だんせい)：あのバッグ？
Man: That bag?
女性：うん。いい感じじゃない？
女性(じょせい)：うん。いい感(かん)じじゃない？
Woman: Yeah. Isn't it nice?
感じ かんじ feeling; impression; atmosphere
じゃない it is not the case that ...; isn't it?
男性：今のと同じじゃん。
男性(だんせい)：今(いま)のと同(おな)じじゃん。
Man: It's the same as the one you have now.
今 いま now
今の いまの abbreviation of 今(いま)のバッグ; a current bag
同じ おなじ same
じゃん common way of ending a sentence mainly in Kanto region; a colloquial form of じゃない; isn't it
女性：同じじゃないよ！
女性(じょせい)：同(おな)じじゃないよ！
Woman: It is not the same!
男性：そうかなー？
男性(だんせい)：そうかなー？
Man: Is that so?
そう so; such; that is so; that's right
～かな indicates uncertainty; softens a sentence
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.
I’m a little confused as to how:
女性1：わたしも、まだなんだ。
can mean “I haven’t either”.
I understand this part:
“も too; also
まだ yet; still”
But not this part:
なんだ
Isn’t this the same as 何です and, if so, how do we derive “haven’t” from that?
It’s different from 何です (What is…).
なん can express several feelings. Here it kind of reveals the fact, like “actually.”:
Actually, I haven’t tried it yet.
It implies she is interested in trying it.
Without it, she just tells the fact that she hasn’t tried it yet.
まだだ means “haven’t done something yet.”
What’s the different of these two suggestion forms?
帰ろう (ro u)
食べよう (yo u)
That’s the difference between U-verbs and Ru-verbs.
There are two types of verbs although I’m not sure if you have learned them yet.
Here is a flowchart to distinguish between U-verbs and Ru-verbs.
Q1. Does the word in dictionary form end with -ru?
— No ⇒ Then, it is a U-verb.
e.g.) 書く (ka-ku)、話す (ha-na-su)、立つ (ta-tsu)
— Yes ⇒ Go to Q2.
Q2. Does the word end with -eru or -iru?
— No ⇒ Then, it is a U-verb.
e.g.) 売る (u-ru)
— Yes ⇒ Go to Q3.
Q3. Is the word in the following list?
— No, it is not in the list. ⇒ Then it is a Ru-verb.
e.g.) 見る (mi-ru)、食べる (ta-be-ru)、居る (i-ru)、着る (ki-ru)、寝る (ne-ru)
— Yes, it is in the list ⇒ Then it is a U-verb.
List of basic U-verbs ending with -iru or -eru for beginners and intermediate learners
入る (ha-i-ru)、帰る (ka-e-ru)、走る (ha-shi-ru)、知る (shi-ru)、要る (i-ru)、
切る (ki-ru)、蹴る (ke-ru)、減る (he-ru)、散る (chi-ru)、照る (te-ru)、しゃべる (sha-be-ru)、参る (ma-i-ru)、
あせる (a-se-ru)、混じる (ma-ji-ru)、値切る (ne-gi-ru)、
限る (ka-gi-ru)、区切る (ku-gi-ru)、とちる (to-chi-ru)、練る (ne-ru)
To make it easier for you to remember, all the words that end with -aru, -uru, -oru are U-verbs.
※The following 3 words are irregular verbs.
する suru (to do) ⇒ しない shinai
来る kuru (to come) ⇒ 来ない konai
ある aru (to exist) ⇒ ない nai
How to turn verbs into a suggestion form:
1. U-verbs:
Step 1: change the U-sound of the last letter to the O-sound
Step 2: Add う
e.g.)
書く (ka-ku) → 書こ (ka-ko) + う → 書こう
話す (ha-na-su) → 話そ (ha-na-so) + う → 話そう
立つ (ta-tsu) → 立と (ta-to) + う → 立とう
帰る (ka-e-ru) → 帰ろ (ka-e-ro) + う → 帰ろう
2. Ru-verbs:
Simply replace “る” with “よう”
e.g.)
見る (mi-ru) → 見よう (mi-yo-u)
食べる (ta-be-ru) → 食べよう (ta-be-yo-u)
居る (i-ru) → 居よう (i-yo-u)
着る (ki-ru) → 着よう (ki-yo-u)
寝る (ne-ru) → 寝よう (ne-yo-u)
Thank you so much Sawako Sensei!
No worries 😉
Regarding: 今のと同じじゃん。Is the とhere used as ‘the bag you have “with” you now’, or is it a marker like in と思う or と言う?
> it a marker like in と思う or と言う?
This one. ~と同じ same as
と has many different meanings
Thanks for the explanation! I have to practise the mobile phone keyboard 🙂
Hm, how do I distinguish the “isn’t it” (confirmation) from the “it isn’t” (negation) with じやない ?
It’s じゃない。Context and the tone of voice.
This one 「うん。いい感じじゃない？ 」is quite easy because you already know that she was paying attention to the bag and she’s asking to agree. Also, we don’t usually say いい感じじゃない when me mean “it’s not good” (although we do say it sometimes, but only sometimes in specific context with a specific tone.) If she wanted to say it’s not good, she would probably use other expressions like あんまり良くない。
It looks like the second sound file of the first exercise is miscut.
Sorry, fixed it.