Lesson Dialogues
Situation 1
Aki and Sachi have come to a karaoke box, which seems to be crowded.
アキ：なんか、人多くない？
アキ：なんか、人(ひと)多(おお)くない？
Aki: Aren't there a lot of people?
- なんか something; things like …, or something like that …; conversation filler; なんか、寒(さむ)い。Well, it's cold.
- 人(ひと) person; people; human being
- 多(おお)くない negative form of 多(おお)い
- 多(おお)い many; much; a lot of
サチ：多いね。
サチ：多(おお)いね。
Sachi: There are a lot.
- ～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).
アキ：この前なんか、人いなかったじゃん。
アキ：この前(まえ)なんか、人(ひと)いなかったじゃん。
Aki: There wasn't anyone last time.
- この前(まえ) some time ago; recently; lately; the other day; この前(まえ)車(くるま)買(か)ったよ。I bought a car the other day.
- いなかった negative form of いた
- いた past tense of いる
- いる to be; to exist; to stay; use ある for objects and いる for people and animals
- じゃん common way of ending a sentence mainly in Kanto region; a colloquial form of じゃない; isn't it
サチ：そうだよね。他のとこ、行く？
サチ：そうだよね。他(ほか)のとこ、行(い)く？
Sachi: Exactly. Should we go somewhere else?
- そう so; such; that is so; that's right
- ～よね shares mutual sentiments; confirms some information: 寒(さむ)いよね。 It's cold, right?; よな is sometimes used by male speakers; かわいいよ。 may imply she might not know that she's cute, かわいいね。 may imply you expect her to notice it too, and かわいいよね。implies that the speaker is certain about the statement and expect the other person to agree
- 他(ほか) other; another; else; 他(ほか)の人(ひと) other people
- の indicates possession: 私(わたし)の子供(こども) my child; その車(くるま)、私(わたし)の。That car is mine; 私(わたし)の食(た)べる？Do you want to eat mine?
- 所(ところ)、とこ place: 広(ひろ)い所(ところ) a big place; point: わからない所(ところ)ある？Is there anything you don't understand?; part; aspect: どんなところが好(す)き？ What part do you like?; area; explains the current situation: 食(た)べているところ I'm in the middle of eating; 食(た)べたところ I just finished eating (= at the point where I finished eating.)
- 行(い)く to go
アキ：うん、そうしよう。
アキ：うん、そうしよう。
Aki: Yeah, let's do that.
- うん (casual, non-keigo) yes; yeah
- しよう ou form of する; ～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; 作(つく)ろう。let's make.
- する to do; to make; to decide on; to choose
Situation 2
Haru and Yuka are looking at bags at a department store.
ハル：これ、いいね。
ハル：これ、いいね。
Haru: This is nice.
- これ this
- いい good; 映画(えいが)よかった！ The film was great!; you may use this to indicate your preference or choice; 私(わたし)、ラーメンがいい。I'd like to choose ramen; いいね is the Japanese version of "like" on social media.
ユカ：うん、いいよね。
ユカ：うん、いいよね。
Yuki: Yeah, it's nice.
ハル：私、このデザイン好き。
ハル：私(わたし)、このデザイン好(す)き。
Haru: I like this design.
- この this
- デザイン design
- 好(す)き favorite; to like; to love
ユカ：あ、でも、見て。すごく高いよ。
ユカ：あ、でも、見(み)て。すごく高(たか)いよ。
Yuki: Oh, but look, it's really expensive.
- 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; even: プロでも出来(でき)ない。Even professionals can't do it.
- 見(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!; it's common to end a sentence with a te-form. Japanese people often don't finish a sentence completely: 昨日(きのう)学校(がっこう)行(い)って、勉強(べんきょう)して。。。I went to school yesterday, studied, and…
- 見(み)る to see; to look; to watch; to check; we use 観(み)る for things like sports or TV shows
- すごく adverbial form of すごい
- すごい i-adj. fantastic, wonderful, terrible; adv. awfully, very, immensely
- 高(たか)い high; tall; expensive
- ～よ introduces new information; emphasises a sentence; 朝(あさ)だよ！It's morning!
ハル：ほんとだ。高くて買えない。
ハル：ほんとだ。高(たか)くて買(か)えない。
Haru: You're right. It's expensive and I can't buy it.
- 本当(ほんとう)、ほんと truth; right; really
- 高(たか)くて te-form of 高(たか)い
- 買(か)えない negative form of 買(か)える
- 買(か)える potential form of 買(か)う; ～える expresses possibility; can; can be
- 買(か)う to buy
Situation 3
This is a conversation at a cafe.
店員：こんにちは。何にしますか？
店員(てんいん)：こんにちは。何(なに)にしますか？
Staff: Good afternoon. What would you like to have?
- こんにちは hello (good afternoon)
- 何(なに) what
- ～に indicates a destination, place or point of attention: 日本(にほん)に行(い)く to go to Japan; 友達(ともだち)に話(はな)す to talk to a friend; indicates the result or goal of an action: 大人(おとな)になる to become an adult; indicates an actor in a passive sentence: 先生(せんせい)に見(み)つかった。I was found by a teacher.
- します ます form of する; ～ます makes a keigo (polite) sentence
- ～か？ makes a sentence a question; usually used with keigo sentences in spoken Japanese; textbooks often drop the question mark, but it's common to use a question mark in real-life situations
客：えーと、何にしようかな。
客(きゃく)：えーと、何(なに)にしようかな。
Customer: Hmm, I wonder what I should get.
- ～かな indicates uncertainty; softens a sentence; ちょっと寒(さむ)いかな。I think it's a bit cold.
店員：メニュー、見ますか？
店員(てんいん)：メニュー、見(み)ますか？
Staff: Would you like to see the menu?
- メニュー menu
- 見(み)ます ます form of 見(み)る; ～ます makes a keigo (polite) sentence
客：はい。ちょっと見ますね。
客(きゃく)：はい。ちょっと見(み)ますね。
Customer: Yes. I will take a look.
- はい yes
- ちょっと (just) a little; a bit; (conversation filler)
店員：分かりました。後でまた来ます。
店員(てんいん)：分(わ)かりました。後(あと)でまた来(き)ます。
Staff: Sure. I will be back later.
- 分(わ)かりました past tense of 分(わ)かります
- 分(わ)かります ます form of 分(わ)かる; ～ます makes a keigo (polite) sentence
- 分(わ)かる to understand; to see
- また adv. additionally; moreover; conj. again; too; and; また来(き)ます。I'll come here again.
- 後(あと) after; later; the rest; also; in addition; from now: あと三分(さんぷん)あります。We have 3 minutes left (from now).
- ～で in; at; from; by: indicates means (methods) or places; 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; may make a noun adverbial: 短(みじか)い時間(じかん)で食(た)べる eating fast; indicates a choice: じゃあビールで。Then, I choose beer.
- 来(き)ます ます form of 来(く)る; ～ます makes a keigo (polite) sentence
- 来(く)る to come
Situation 4
This is a conversation of a customer making an order at a cafe.
店員：何にしますか？
店員(てんいん)：何(なに)にしますか？
Staff: What would you like to have?
客：カフェオレにします。
客(きゃく)：カフェオレにします。
Customer: I will get a cafe au lait.
- カフェオレ café au lait
店員：カフェオレ一つですね。大きいのもありますが。
店員(てんいん)：カフェオレ一(ひと)つですね。大(おお)きいのもありますが。
Staff: One cafe au lait. We also have a large one.
- 一(ひと)つ one (a way of counting); ラーメン一(ひと)つください. One ramen please.
- ～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.
- 大(おお)きい big; large; great
- ～の の can make other words, such as verbs, function like a noun: 食(た)べるのはやめる。I will stop eating.
- ～も too; also; 私(わたし)も行(い)く！ I'll go too!; but: 頑張(がんば)っても出来(でき)なかった。I tried my best, but I couldn't do it.
- あります ます form of ある; ～ます makes a keigo (polite) sentence
- ある to be (existence); to have (possession); to happen; use ある for objects and いる for people and animals
- ～が but; 雨(あめ)ですが行(い)きます。It's raining but I'll go; used for introductory phrases: イベントがありますが行(い)きますか？ There's an event. Do you want to go?
客：あ、大きいのにします。
客(きゃく)：あ、大(おお)きいのにします。
Customer: Oh, I will get the large one.
店員：はい。他には？
店員(てんいん)：はい。他(ほか)には？
Staff: Okay. Anything else?
客：いえ、それだけで。
客(きゃく)：いえ、それだけで。
Customer: Nope, that's all.
- いえ no; colloquial version of いいえ
- それ that
- ～だけ only; alone; merely
店員：分かりました。
店員(てんいん)：分(わ)かりました。
Staff: Sure.
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.
Why is で used at the end of the sentence 「それだけで」I remember hearing 「以上で」before too but am unsure about the meaning.
Its full sentence should be それだけでいいです。
The speaker omits the rest part いいです since it’s obvious.
I think you also say the phrase in a similar way in English.: “That’s all.”
The full sentence should be: “That’s all I want.” or “That’s all I need.”
分かりました。ありがとうございます！
What’s the difference between とこ and 所?
とこ means 所（ところ）. とこ is often used in conversation.
In situation 1 line 1, what does -nai apply to? It’s attached to 多(おお)い but the sentence mentions there are a lot of people. I’m having a little bit of a hard time understanding the structure of Japanese sentences. If someone could help me out with sentence structures that’d be great thanks!
The English translation given is “Aren’t there a lot of people?”. If we turn this English sentence into a statement, the structure changes by shifting the negative question phrase ‘aren’t’ to a negative form of the adjective ‘a lot’–> not a lot. This become “There are not a lot of people”. In the context of the example, this wouldn’t make sense because as you pointed out, there are a lot of people.
Unlike English, Japanese sentence structure doesn’t necessarily need to add question phrases (such as ‘aren’t’) to make it a question.
‘ひと多いくない’ directly translated would become ‘people not a lot’, where -kunai is negating the adjective ‘a lot’. Because this sentence is non-keigo (or non-formal) speech, the question particle ‘か’ that would be at the end is omitted. This leaves us with a statement that is changed into a question by intonation and context.
Intonation: rising pitch towards the end of the question
Context: There are clearly many people around.
So, in ‘ひと多いくない’, the negative is attached to 多い, but think of it as implying ‘are not’. So, “people not a lot” –> “people aren’t a lot?” –> “(are [there]) not a lot of people?”, where ‘are there’ is implied.
The negative is used because Aki is asking a question that both can agree on. Perhaps you’ve asked a friend “Isn’t it hot?” 「Japanese= “熱くない?“」 on a sweltering day. They may respond “Yeah, it’s hot”. 「Japanese= “暑いね”」
This is a similar concept.
After, you can see that Sachi responds with “多いね”- (There are) a lot, affirming that it true.
Thank you! That made a lot of sense. I appreciate the write up.
even though the negative form is used, it does not mean it is negative. when the intonation goes up, ～ない？becomes Yes/No questions and it is more likely to get an agreement.
人多くない？→ Aren’t there a lot of people? (Aki wanted to get an agreement by questioning)