Lesson Dialogues
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Situation 1
Takashi and Ken are talking while they walk.
タカシ：あー、お腹減ったなあ。なんか食べていこうよ。
タカシ：あー、お腹(なか)減(へ)ったなあ。なんか食(た)べていこうよ。
Takashi: Ah, I'm hungry. Let's go eat something.
- お腹(なか) stomach; belly
- 減(へ)る to decrease; to become less
- お腹(なか)[が]減(へ)る to get hungry
ケン：えー。俺あんまり減ってないわ。昼ごはん食べてないの？
ケン：えー。俺(おれ)あんまり減(へ)ってないわ。昼(ひる)ごはん食(た)べてないの？
Ken: Hmm. I'm not very hungry. You didn't eat lunch?
- ～わ can be feminine with a rising pitch and non-feminine with a falling pitch; 食(た)べるわ。(where わ is said with a rising pitch) sounds feminine. You hear this more often in fiction and real-life Japanese women don't use it as often as fictional characters. On the other hand, non-feminine わ is common in real-life, especially with young people.
- 昼(ひる) noon; daytime
- [お]昼(ひる)ごはん lunch
タカシ：昼は普通に食べたよ。けどもう夕方じゃん。
タカシ：昼(ひる)は普通(ふつう)に食(た)べたよ。けどもう夕方(ゆうがた)じゃん。
Takashi. I ate at lunchtime like usual. But it's almost the evening now.
- 夕方(ゆうがた) evening
ケン：たしかに夕方だけどさ。こんな時間に食べていいの？夜ごはん食べれなくなるじゃん。
ケン：たしかに夕方(ゆうがた)だけどさ。こんな時間(じかん)に食(た)べていいの？夜(よる)ごはん食(た)べれなくなるじゃん。
Ken: It really is almost the evening, but are you sure we should eat at a time like this? We won't be hungry enough for dinner if we do.
- 夜(よる)ご飯(はん) dinner
タカシ：いやー。最近俺、おかしいんだよ。いくら食べてもすぐお腹減るんだよ。
タカシ：いやー。最近(さいきん)俺(おれ)、おかしいんだよ。いくら食(た)べてもすぐお腹(なか)減(へ)るんだよ。
Takashi: Well actually, I've been weird lately. I feel hungry no matter how much I eat.
- おかしい funny, amusing; strange
ケン：へー、俺とは全く逆だな。俺は全然お腹減らないわ。今日も昼にパン一つだけだし。
ケン：へー、俺(おれ)とは全(まった)く逆(ぎゃく)だな。俺(おれ)は全然(ぜんぜん)お腹(なか)減(へ)らないわ。今日(きょう)も昼(ひる)にパン一(ひと)つだけだし。
Ken: Really? That's the complete opposite of me. I never feel hungry. All I had for lunch today was a slice of bread.
- パン bread
タカシ：パン一つだけ？ それだけで大丈夫なの？
タカシ：パン一(ひと)つだけ？ それだけで大丈夫(だいじょうぶ)なの？
Takashi: Only a slice of bread? You're okay with just that?
ケン：うん。おかしいかなあ？まあ、食事に対してあんまり興味もないしね。
ケン：うん。おかしいかなあ？まあ、食事(しょくじ)に対(たい)してあんまり興味(きょうみ)もないしね。
Ken: Yep. I wonder if it’s weird. Well, I'm just not very interested when it comes to eating meals.
タカシ：信じられないな…。食べることが人生における一番の楽しみじゃん！
タカシ：信(しん)じられないな…。食(た)べることが人生(じんせい)における一番(いちばん)の楽(たの)しみじゃん！
Takashi: That's unbelievable. Eating is the single greatest pleasure in life!
- ～における regarding; about; indicates a place or situation; 日本(にほん)における公害(こうがい)。Air pollution in Japan.
Situation 2
Aya is speaking to a clerk at a clothing shop.
アヤ：すみません。これなんですけど。もうちょっと小さいの、ありますか？
アヤ：すみません。これなんですけど。もうちょっと小(ちい)さいの、ありますか？
Aya: Excuse me. I wanted to ask about this. Do you have one that's a little smaller?
店員：ごめんなさい。そちらの商品、それが最後の一枚なんです。
店員(てんいん)：ごめんなさい。そちらの商品(しょうひん)、それが最後(さいご)の一枚(いちまい)なんです。
Clerk: I'm sorry. That is the last one that we have for that item.
- 商品(しょうひん) goods; item of merchandise
- 一枚(いちまい) one (sheet, slice)
アヤ：そうなんですか。また入ってきそうですか？
アヤ：そうなんですか。また入(はい)ってきそうですか？
Aya: Oh, really? Will you be getting any more of them?
店員：うーん…。たぶん一枚も入ってこないと思います。
店員(てんいん)：うーん…。たぶん一枚(いちまい)も入(はい)ってこないと思(おも)います。
Clerk: Hmm. I'm almost certain that we will not be getting more of them.
アヤ：そっかー、残念。ちなみに、これって雑誌で紹介されてましたよね？
アヤ：そっかー、残念(ざんねん)。ちなみに、これって雑誌(ざっし)で紹介(しょうかい)されてましたよね？
Aya: Ah, that's too bad. By the way, wasn't this item featured in a magazine?
- ちなみに by the way; incidentally
- 雑誌(ざっし) magazine
店員：そうなんですよ。雑誌の力なのか、すぐに売れちゃいました。
店員(てんいん)：そうなんですよ。雑誌(ざっし)の力(ちから)なのか、すぐに売(う)れちゃいました。
Clerk: That's right. It was probably because of the magazine that it sold out in no time.
- 売(う)れる to sell
アヤ：やっぱりそうかあ。来るのが遅かったかあ。
アヤ：やっぱりそうかあ。来(く)るのが遅(おそ)かったかあ。
Aya: I figured that was the case. I came too late.
- 遅(おそ)い late; slow
店員：最近ないんですけどね。そんなに早く売れちゃう商品。あ、ちなみにネットの方は見ていただけました？
店員(てんいん)：最近(さいきん)ないんですけどね。そんなに早(はや)く売(う)れちゃう商品(しょうひん)。あ、ちなみにネットの方(ほう)は見(み)ていただけました？
Clerk: That doesn't happen much these days, where an item sells out that quickly. Oh, speaking of which, did you see it online?
- インターネット、ネット Internet
- ～ていただく extra polite way of saying ～てもらう: 学校(がっこう)に来(き)ていただけませんか？Could you please come to the school?
アヤ：え？ネットですか？見てないです。
アヤ：え？ネットですか？見(み)てないです。
Aya: Huh? Online? I didn't see anything.
店員：この商品、ネットでも販売してるんですよ。一度調べてみてください。
店員(てんいん)：この商品(しょうひん)、ネットでも販売(はんばい)してるんですよ。一度(いちど)調(しら)べてみてください。
Clerk: This item is available for sale online as well. Please try looking it up to see.
- 販売(はんばい) sale; 販売(はんばい)する to sell
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Situation 2, line 9, I’m still a bit confused by words like this Like 見てない. When I first heard the sentence, I did get the idea that it was in the past tense, but I don’t really know why. Do you form negative past tenses by making the て form negative? Is it always like that?
What’s the difference between における and 対する? I’m sure there’s a very big and obvious difference, but I can’t see it since I’m already having a lot of trouble understanding these words. Because since I don’t really have a concrete definition for either of them, their definitions kinda blur together.
I’m not really sure what’s bothering you, but the sentence is not the past tense.
It means “I haven’t seen (or visited) your website.”
So 見てない is not the past form. The negative past form should be 見ませんでした.
おける is to specify time, place, or situation where a certain action or event is taken place.
ex. 日本における問題. It means problems that happen specifically in Japan.
We often see or hear おける in the news, but rarely use it in spoken language.
対する is a bit hard to explain because there are various words for it in English,
in other words, you describe using different words in English where we just use 対する.
There are two main usages of it: “toward” and “against”
Ken is kind toward other students. ケンは他の生徒に対して親切です。
A patient made a complaint against a hospital. 患者は病院に対して苦情を言った。
So, the idea is to indicate a direction toward /against a target/object.
If 見てない is not the past tense how then is it translated to “I haven’t seen your web site?” The translation is in the past tense. …am I trying to figure this out wrong? I think I might be. When I first heard and read the sentence in Japanese, I did understand it correctly. But when I read the English translation and didn’t understand why it was translated like that, that’s when I got confused. I think I might be trying to understand this sentence in English, when the goal is to think in Japanese. When this happens again, where I understand the Japanese sentence but I don’t understand why it’s translated a certain way in English, should I just leave it alone since I understand it in Japanese? Or should I try to figure out why it’s translated to English the way that it is?
I think I understand おける and 対する a little better now. Thank you very much!
No problem.
てない works either the present, present progressive, or present perfect.
By present perfect, I mean “an action is not completed”, not “experience”.
So I should’ve said the sentence means “I haven’t seen your website (yet).”
It’s called “resultant state.”
Does it make sense, or is it still confusing?
Still confusing, but should we just leave this issue alone? I did understand the sentence the first time I heard it. I understood that she was saying that she hasn’t seen the site yet. It’s just that the technical innerworkings of the sentence and why it’s written the way it is doesn’t make sense to me. I’m pretty sure the same thing happens to me in English. Even though I’m completely fluent, I might hear sentences that I understand, but when I really think about them it might not make sense why they’re constructed that way. I also can construct sentences like these myself, despite not understanding exactly how they work.
So should I ignore the fact that I don’t understand why the sentence is written the way it’s written? Should I just accept the fact that I understand the sentence and move on?
If it’s the translation that confuses you, you can forget about it. What you first thought “she hasn’t seen the site yet” is correct.
But it seems you are confusing for a different reason.
If it happens in English as well, would it be all right if I ask you to give me some examples of sentences that make you confused in English?
If you could clear them up, this usage might make sense, too.
But if you’d like to move on, it’s also fine.
I’m sorry, I can’t think of any examples. I just feel like I’ve seen sentences like that before.
That’s okay. Since てない is used very frequently, you can ask when you see it again in a different situation. You might be able to understand it better, or you might be able to explain what bothers you more specifically.
Alright. Thank you for the help!
No problem.