Lesson Dialogues
Situation 1
Tomo is inviting Jun to go downtown.
トモ:街に行こうよ。
Tomo: Let's go downtown.
- 街 town; city
- ~に indicates a destination, place or point of attention: 日本に行く to go to Japan; 友達に話す to talk to a friend; indicates the result or goal of an action: 大人になる to become an adult; indicates an actor in a passive sentence: 先生に見つかった。I was found by a teacher.
- 行こう ou form of 行く; ~ou expresses suggestion; let's __; 食べよう。 let's eat; 行こう。 let's go; 遊ぼう。 let's play; 作ろう。let's make.
- 行く to go
- ~よ introduces new information; emphasises a sentence; 朝だよ!It's morning!
ジュン:えー、この前も行ったじゃん。お金があまりないよ。
Jun: What? We just went the other day. I don't have much money.
- えー expresses surprise or disappointment: えー、本当? What? Really?
- この前 some time ago; recently; lately; the other day; この前車買ったよ。I bought a car the other day.
- ~も too; also; 私も行く! I'll go too!; but: 頑張っても出来なかった。I tried my best, but I couldn't do it.
- 行った past tense of 行く
- ~じゃん common way of ending a sentence mainly in Kanto region; a colloquial form of じゃない; isn't it
- お金 money
- あまり n. the rest; あまり、あんまり adv. (not) much; often; あまり~ない: 仕事があまりない。I don't have a lot of work.
- 無い There is no . . . ; no . . .
トモ:でも、僕、チョコレートが食べたい。
Tomo: But I want to eat chocolate.
- でも but; however; or something; でも、日本に行きたい。But, I want to go to Japan; even: プロでも出来ない。Even professionals can't do it.
- 僕 I (used by male speakers)
- チョコレート chocolate
- 食べたい たい form of 食べる; ~たい expresses desire; I want to __
- 食べる to eat
ジュン:わかった。少しだけだよ。
Jun: Fine. Just a little bit, alright?
- わかった past tense of わかる
- わかる to understand; to see
- 少し a little; a few
- ~だけ only; alone; merely
Situation 2
Sato-san and Suzuki-san are going home together.
鈴木:佐藤さんは、どこに住んでるんですか?
Suzuki: Sato-san, where do you live?
- どこ where
- 住んで te-form of 住む; te-form is often used to connect to other expressions; te-form may indicate a command; 食べて!Please eat!; it's common to end a sentence with a te-form. Japanese people often don't finish a sentence completely: 昨日学校行って、勉強して。。。I went to school yesterday, studied, and...
- ~ている、てる verb form to express continuation; 食べる + ている = 食べている eating; てる is a colloquial version of ている; some verbs such as 知る uses this form to express the present situation 知っている (I know) but uses the present native form to say the opposite: 知らない (I don't know); often てん in spoken Japanese: それ、知ってんの?Do you know that?
- 住む to live
- ~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.
- ~か makes a sentence a question: 日本人ですか? Are you Japanese?; 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; making a remark to yourself: 雨か。。。It's raining...
佐藤:えーと、すぐそこです。
Sato: Um, just there.
- すぐそこ right there
鈴木:あの、大きい家ですか?
Suzuki: That big house?
- あの that; those
- 大きい big; large; great
- 家 house; home
佐藤:はい。
Sato: Yes.
- はい yes
鈴木:へー、すごいですね。
Suzuki: Wow, that's amazing.
- へー oh, yes?; really?
- すごい i-adj. fantastic, wonderful, terrible; adv. awfully, very, immensely
- ~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
Tomo spoke to Jun, who was carrying luggage.
トモ:それ、一緒に持つよ。
Tomo: I'll hold that together.
- それ that
- 一緒 together; with
- 持つ to have; to take; to hold
ジュン:本当?ありがとう。
Jun: Really? Thanks.
- 本当 truth; right; really
- ありがとう thank you; ありがと is colloquial; どうもありがとう thanks a lot
トモ:どこに持って行くの?
Tomo: Where are you bringing it to?
- 持って te-form of 持つ; te-form is often used to connect to other expressions; te-form may indicate a command; 食べて!Please eat!; it's common to end a sentence with a te-form. Japanese people often don't finish a sentence completely: 昨日学校行って、勉強して。。。I went to school yesterday, studied, and...
ジュン:先生のところ。他にも、たくさんあるんだ。
Jun: To where Sensei is. There are many others as well.
- 先生 teacher; professor; doctor
- ~の indicates possession: 私の子供 my child; その車、私の。That car is mine; 私の食べる?Do you want to eat mine?
- 所 place: 広い所 a big place; point: わからない所ある?Is there anything you don't understand?; part; aspect: どんなところが好き? What part do you like?; area; explains the current situation: 食べているところ I'm in the middle of eating; 食べたところ I just finished eating (= at the point where I finished eating.)
- 他 other; another; else; 他の人 other people
- たくさん many; much; a lot
- ある to be (existence); to have (possession); to happen; use ある for objects and いる for people and animals
トモ:わかった。
Tomo: Alright.
Situation 4
Suzuki-san is waiting for Sato-san, who is eating a meal.
鈴木:もう終わりましたか?
Suzuki: Have you finished?
- もう already; soon; again; more; strengthens expression of an emotion; filler word: なんか、もう、帰ろうよ: Like, let's go home already?
- 終わりました past tense of 終わります
- 終わります ます form of 終わる; ~ます makes a keigo (polite) sentence
- 終わる to end; to finish
佐藤:まだ終わらないです。
Sato: I am not done.
- まだ yet; still; まだ帰れない。I can't go home yet.
- 終わらない negative form of 終わる
鈴木:もう二時ですよ。食べるの結構かかりますか?
Suzuki: It's already two o'clock. Will you take long to eat?
- 二 two
- 時 time, when; 時 o'clock
- ~の の can make other words, such as verbs, function like a noun: 食べるのはやめる。I will stop eating.
- 結構 adv. quite, fairly; na-adj. good
- かかります ます form of かかる; ~ます makes a keigo (polite) sentence
- かかる to take (time, resource); to cost; to hang
佐藤:はい、もう少しかかると思います。
Sato: Yes, I think I will take a little longer.
- 思います ます form of 思う; ~ます makes a keigo (polite) sentence
- 思う to think; to believe; to feel; to expect; ~と思う I think that: 明日、行くと思う。I think I will go tomorrow.
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.
What is the るん in 住すんでるん for? It doesn’t seem like it’s listed in the explanation of te-forms. Is it a word?
住んでるんですか(colloquial) is the same as 住んでいるのですか。
あー ありがとう。
”んだ” sounds like it’s used a lot like “よ” to me, which begs another question:
What is the difference in nuance between ”~~んだ。” and “~~んだよ。” –which I’ve also seen?
Thanks so much for your comments.
An obvious difference between “~ んだ” and “~ んだよ” is that the former is without “よ”, while the latter is with “よ”.
So, what this sentence-ending particle “よ” actually does is that it informs someone of something new (new information) or persuades someone of something new while emphasizing a speaker’s decision, assertion, and emotion. So, “んだよ” is used to emphasize or insist on your opinion.
1.たくさんあるんだ。
→んだ:stating an assertion + trying to explain/indicating that a speaker wants to explain further
2.たくさんあるんだよ。
→んだ:stating an assertion + trying to explain/indicating that a speaker wants to explain further
→よ:emphasizing a speaker’s decision, assertion, and emotion
What is the difference between “たくさんある。” and “たくさんあるんだ。” ?
They’re basically the same. Adding ~んだ (~んです if formal) is used when you’re trying to explain or emphasize something or when you are surprised. You can also use it for verbs. For example, 「えー!なっとう食べるんだ?! 」-> “What?! You eat natto?!” Our 先生 may have a better explanation than mine or correct my example.
Thank you for the great explanation 😉 !! So, yes, in this context, ”んだ” part of “たくさんあるんだ” indicates that the speaker wants to explain further and your example sentence “なっとう食べるんだ” shows a speaker’s feeling of surprise.
Grammatically speaking,
の: particle stating an assertion (often changed to ”ん” in spoken Japanese)
だ(informal) / です (formal) : auxiliary verb stating an assertion
Please refer to the comment from ドミ肉 😉