Lesson Dialogues
Situation 1
At the office, Mayu and Tanaka are working together.
田中:これで、いいかな?
田中(たなか):これで、いいかな?
Tanaka: Is this OK, do you think?
- これ this
- で in; at; from; by: フォークで食(た)べる to eat with a fork; 家(いえ)で食(た)べる to eat at home
- 良(よ)い、いい good
- かな indicates uncertainty; softens a sentence: ちょっと寒(さむ)いかな。I think it's a bit cold.
マユ:うん、ほとんど終わったね。
マユ:うん、ほとんど終(お)わったね。
Mayu: Yeah, it's almost finished.
- うん yes; yeah
- ほとんど almost; nearly; mostly
- 終(お)わった past tense of 終(お)わる
- 終(お)わる to end; to finish
- ~ね shares information or experiences; softens a sentence; expects an agreement; isn't it?; don't you?; 雨(あめ)だね。Oh, it's raining (as you can see).
田中:少し大変だったね。
田中(たなか):少(すこ)し大変(たいへん)だったね。
Tanaka: It was a bit hard work, wasn't it?
- 少(すこ)し a little; a few
- 大変(たいへん) serious; terrible; hard; difficult
- だった past tense of nouns and na-adjectives; 雨(あめ)だった。 It was raining.
マユ:うん、でも終わってよかったー!
マユ:うん、でも終(お)わってよかったー!
Mayu: Yeah, but I'm glad it's done!
- でも but; however; or something; でも、日本(にほん)に行(い)きたい。But, I want to go to Japan.
- よかった past tense of 良(よ)い、いい
Situation 2
On their way back from the office, Mayu and Naomi are talking.
マユ:ナオミ、今の仕事好き?
マユ:ナオミ、今(いま)の仕事(しごと)好(す)き?
Mayu: Naomi, do you like your current job?
- 今(いま) now
- 仕事(しごと) work, job; 仕事(しごと)する to work
- 好(す)き favorite; to like; to love
ナオミ:え?どうしたの?
ナオミ:え?どうしたの?
Naomi: Huh? What's up?
- え expresses surprise or disappointment
- どうしたの what's up?; what's wrong?; what's the matter? ; えー、本当(ほんとう)? What? Really?
マユ:ちょっと、気になったから。
マユ:ちょっと、気(き)になったから。
Mayu: I was just... wondering.
- ちょっと (just) a little; a bit; (conversation filler)
- 気(き) mind; heart; motivation; intention; mood; feelings
- なった past tense of なる
- なる to become; to get; to come; to do; to start; to do; to turn into
- 気(き)になる to worry about, to care about; to wonder
- ~から because; since: 雨(あめ)だから行(い)きません。I won't go because it's raining.; use だから with nouns and na-adjectives.
ナオミ:今の仕事…結構好きだよ。
ナオミ:今(いま)の仕事(しごと)…結構(けっこう)好(す)きだよ。
Naomi: My current job... I like it well enough.
- 結構(けっこう) adv. quite, fairly; na-adj. good
- ~よ introduces new information; emphasises a sentence; 朝(あさ)だよ!It's morning!
Situation 3
Friday lunch time at the office, Mayu and Tanaka are talking.
マユ:あー、どこか行きたいなぁ。
マユ:あー、どこか行(い)きたいなぁ。
Mayu: Aaah, I'd like to go out somewhere.
- あー er; uh; um; hmm; ah; oh
- どこか somewhere, anywhere; in some way, somehow
- 行(い)きたい たい form of 行(い)く; ~たい expresses desire; I want to __
- 行(い)く to go
- ~な expresses emotions; emphasises the emotion; softens the sentence; often なー; 日本(にほん)へ行きたいな。I want to go to Japan; かわいいなー。It's so cute.
田中:そうだねー。明日、どこかに行く?
田中(たなか):そうだねー。明日(あした)、どこかに行(い)く?
Tanaka: Yeah... Shall we go somewhere tomorrow?
- そう so (as in "I think so"); そう思(おも)う。 I think so. ; そうなんだ。 I see;
- 明日(あした) tomorrow
マユ:二人で?
マユ:二人(ふたり)で?
Mayu: The two of us?
- 二人(ふたり) two people
田中:うん。どこに行こうか?
田中(たなか):うん。どこに行(い)こうか?
Tanaka: Yeah, where shall we go?
- どこ where
- 行(い)こう 行(い)こう ou form of 行(い)く; ~ou expresses suggestion; let's __; 食(た)べよう。 let's eat; 行(い)こう。 let's go; 遊(あそ)ぼう。 let's play.
- ~か makes a sentence a question; usually used with keigo sentences in spoken Japanese
マユ:どうしようか?
マユ:どうしようか?
Mayu: What shall we do?
- どうしよう what should I do?
Situation 4
At the hospital.
医者:どうしました?
医者(いしゃ):どうしました?
Doctor: How can I help?
- どうしました? How can I help you?; What’s the matter?; What’s wrong?
- しました past tense of します
- します ます form of する; ~ます makes a keigo (polite) sentence
- する to do; to make; to decide on; to choose
タケル:なんか気持ち悪いです。
タケル:なんか気持(きも)ち悪(わる)いです。
Takeru: For some reason, I'm not feeling very well.
- なんか such as; like; things like …; or something like that; (conversation filler)
- 気持(きも)ち feeling; sensation; mood
- 悪(わる)い bad
- です polite ending; use this polite form, called "keigo," when you talk to strangers, people who are older than you, and in business situations.
医者:昨日は何を食べました?
医者(いしゃ):昨日(きのう)は何(なに)を食(た)べました?
Doctor: What did you have to eat yesterday?
- 何(なに) what
- 食(た)べました past tense of 食(た)べます
- 食(た)べます ます form of 食(た)べる; ~ます makes a keigo (polite) sentence
- 食(た)べる to eat
タケル:えーと、ほとんど食べてないです。
タケル:えーと、ほとんど食(た)べてないです。
Takeru: Erm, I hardly ate anything.
- えーと well; let me see
- 食(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 verb form to express continuation; 食(た)べる + ている = 食(た)べている eating; てる is a colloquial version of ている
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.
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I see. I was thinking back then that 難しい is difficult in solving a problem while 大変 is difficult in a sense that it takes a lot of effort/energy to do. Is it right then to put it that way ?
That seems generally true but that’s not everything.
For example, you can say 大変だ! when something bad happened. So be open to other ways of using these words.
Ok, I will. Thanks!
Is there a difference between 大変 and 難しい? 気になりましたから。
Yes, 大変 isn’t always 難しい。
If you are working 12 hours a day, we might say 大変だね (that’s tough) but we wouldn’t say 難しいね (that’s difficult)。
I see. I was thinking back then that 難しい is difficult in solving a problem while 大変 is difficult in a sense that it takes a lot of effort/energy to do. Is it right then to put it that way ?