Lesson Dialogues
Situation 1
This is a conversation between Tanaka-san and Sato-san, who are colleagues at work.
田中：佐藤さんってゴルフやるんですか？
Tanaka: Sato-san, do you play golf?
- ～って about; as for: 名前って何ですか？What's your name?; in spoken Japanese, people use って very often instead of は; ラーメンって好きですか？Do you like ramen? (instead of ラーメンは好きですか？)
- ゴルフ golf
- やる to do; to give
- ～んです actually, as a matter of fact: 明日、映画見たいんですよね。I actually want to watch a movie tomorrow; often used with けど: すいません、トイレに行きたいんですけど。。。Excuse me, I'd like to go to the bathroom; used to ask for a reason: なんで明日、会社来ないんですか？ Why are you not coming to work tomorrow?; used to confirm or react to your observation: もう帰るんですか？ Are you going home already?
佐藤：前はやってたんですけどね。
Sato: I used to play in the past.
- 前 forward; front; before
- やって te-form of やる; 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...
- ～てた past form of ～てる
- ～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?
- けれど、けど but; however; although; though; a lot of people finish a sentence with (だ)けど because it makes the sentence less direct.
- ～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).
田中：今はどうなんです？やってます？
Tanaka: What about now? Do you still play?
- 今 now
- どう how; what; どう思う？What do you think?; how about; ラーメンどう？How about (eating) ramen?
- ～てます ます form of ～てる; ～ます makes a keigo (polite) sentence
佐藤：今はもうやってないんですよ。
Sato: I've already stopped playing.
- 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?
- ～てない negative form of ～てる
- ～よ introduces new information; emphasises a sentence: 朝だよ！It's morning!
Situation 2
This is a conversation between Tanaka-san and Sato-san, who are colleagues at work.
田中：佐藤さん、ゴルフ、やめちゃったんですか？
Tanaka: Sato-san, did you stop playing golf?
- 止める to stop, to give up; 辞める to quit (a job)
- ちゃった past form of ちゃう
- ちゃう to end up doing; to do accidentally; to do without meaning to; to happen to do, to connect a verb to ちゃう, simply remove た from the paste form: 食べちゃう to end up eating.
佐藤：はい。もう、かなり昔ですよ、やめたの。
Sato: Yes. I've already stopped playing a long time ago.
- かなり very; considerably; rather: 今日はかなり寒い。It's very cold today.
- 昔 the past; in the past; once (in the past)
- ～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.
田中：えー、そうなんですか？
Tanaka: Oh, is that so?
- えー、え expresses surprise or disappointment: えー、本当？ What? Really?
- そう so; such; that is so; that's right
佐藤：あんまりうまくなかったですしね。
Sato: Well, I wasn't very good at it.
- 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.
- うまくなかった past form of うまくない
- うまくない negative form of うまい
- うまい delicious, tasty; good at: ギターうまいね！You are good at playing the guitar!; うまく well
- ～し and; besides; because, since: 雨だし行かない。／行かない、雨だし。 I won't go. Besides, it's raining.
Situation 3
Aki and Haru are talking about a place they saw some time ago where a new building was under construction.
アキ：この前のとこ、覚えてる？
Aki: Do you remember that place from the other day?
- 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.
- 所、とこ 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.)
- 覚えて te-form of 覚える ; 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...
- 覚える to learn; to remember; to memorize
ハル：え、どこの話？
Haru: Hmm, which place are you talking about?
- どこ where
- 話 story; talk
アキ：新しくお店できるかもしれないとこ。
Aki: That place where a new store might be opened.
- 新しく adverbial form of 新しい
- 新しい new; fresh
- 店 store; shop; restaurant
- できる to be able to do, to be good at; to be ready; to be made: 彼女ができる=to find a girlfriend; 友達ができる=to make a friend
- ～かも(しれない) perhaps; maybe: 明日、雨かもしれない。Maybe it will rain tomorrow.
ハル：あー。そこが何？
Haru: Oh yes. What about that?
- そこ there
- 何 what
アキ：カフェができるみたい。
Aki: It seems like they will be opening a cafe.
- カフェ cafe
- ～みたい like; it seems that...; as if...; 明日雨みたい it seems like it's raining tomorrow
Situation 4
It seems like a cafe will be opened nearby.
ハル：どこで聞いたの？
Haru: Where did you hear that?
- 聞いた past form of 聞く
- 聞く to hear; to listen; to ask; to obey
- ～の emphasises a sentence or question: 本当にできるの？Can you really do it?; できるの！I can do it!; may sound feminine in some cases; 私、できるの。 sounds feminine.
アキ：学校で友達がそう言ってたよ。
Aki: My friend at school was telling me about it.
- 学校 school
- 友達 friend
- 言って te-form of 言う ; 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...
- 言う to say; to speak; to talk; to mean: どういう意味？What does it mean? 暑いっていう意味。It means "hot".
ハル：へー、いつオープンするの？
Haru: Oh. When will it open?
- ヘー oh, yes?; really?
- いつ when
- オープンする to open
アキ：それは知らない。また、その友達に聞いてみる。
Aki: No idea. I'll try asking that friend again.
- それ that
- 知らない negative form of 知る
- 知る to know; use the te-form to say "I know": そのアニメ知ってるよ。I know that anime.
- また adv additionally; moreover; conj. again; too; and; また来ます。I'll come here again
- その that
- 聞いて te-form of 聞く; 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...
- ～てみる to try and ___; to try something; to attempt to do something; 食べてみる。I'll try eating.
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.
When I used to teach 英会話 in Japan, I noticed many of the other teachers spoke in an unnaturally slow and artificial sounding voice to their students. I wanted to expose my students to authentic English since I considered that an important part of my duty as a teacher so I tried to speak in a more natural way while still speaking clearly and not overly fast.
The content of the conversations in these lessons is really great and I think is very helpful in providing exposure to authentic natural expressions but the slow speaking speed and unnatural pauses between words from some of the voice actors reminds me of those 英会話 teachers and actually makes it harder to follow some of the conversations.
Thanks for the feedback.
We’ve received similar comments from others, so we are recording the current lessons at a natural speed.
I’m very happy to hear that!
We hope you enjoy our new lessons! 🙂
I have a question about アキ：新あたらしくお店みせできるかもしれないとこ。 This is hard to grasp to me I translated as a place that a store will be newly build maybe? Or a place that might newly build a store? I’m not understanding the translation
2.) あんまりうまくなかった is also confused me I translated this is had not become good that much? I’m sorry could u explain this more to me
Same with
Cafeで できるみたい u translated to seems like they will be opening a new cafe but できる mean to build not open so im lost sorry
It would help if you mentioned which situation and line your question comes from. You can paste the line including the speaker’s name.
新しくお店できるかもしれないとこ。means “(I’m talking about) the place where a store/stores might newly open.”
When the subject is a store or building, できる means “to be built, to open, to begin service.”
As for あんまりうまくなかった, they are talking about golf.
So the full sentence should be ゴルフは、あんまりうまくなかった, which means “I wasn’t very good at playing golf.” or “I didn’t play golf very well.”
うまくなかった is the negative form of うまかった. うまかった is the past form of うまい (be good at something).
in the note “新あたらしく adverbial form of 新あたらしい”
What does adverbial form mean/ where is it used? Just need to know so i can put it down in my notes.
新しく (newly) can work as an adverb that modifies a verb or an adjective, while 新しい (new) is an adjective that modifies a noun.
・メニューにブラジリアンコーヒーを新しく加えます。- We’re going to add Brazilian coffee newly.
※ 新しく modifies 加える(くわえる – add)
・新しいメニューはブラジリアンコーヒーです。 – Our new menu has Brazilian coffee.
※ 新しい modifies メニュー (menu)
※ 新しいメニュー is often called 新メニュー (しんメニュー) for short.
I have a question about situation 4. When アキ says “学校がで友達がそう言いってたよ.” I understand everything except for the purpose of そう in her response. Can someone explain why it is there? ありがとうございます!
This そう works in the same way as “so” in English.
It’s used instead of repeating what her friend said.
My friend said so at school.
or That’s what my friend at school told me.
Could you explain the meaning for the second の in the following question from Situation 3? I don’t understand how it connects “the other day” and “place.” Thanks!
アキ：この前まえのとこ、覚おぼえてる？
It means “the place we talked about the other day”
この前のとこ literally means “the place of the other day”
の here works as “of” or “X’s”
Like “Today‘s newspaper” (今日の新聞)
この前の(the other day’s) とこ (place)
See how の works:
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Thanks!
In…
たなか：佐藤さとうさんってゴルフやるんですか？
…I heard an unfamiliar sound or two briefly before やる. It almost sounded like it was pronounced “iharu” instead of “yaru”, or something like that. What am I hearing… is it just her particular accent?
What I hear is 佐藤さんって(pause)ゴルフ(pause)やるんですか？
Maybe she pronounces bit like “iyaru”, but I can’t hear it the way you described.
Maybe she processes some sound that I can’t recognize. 🙂
Could you explain the reason for の the following statement?
佐藤さとう：はい。もう、かなり昔むかしですよ、やめたの。
In the bullet points, it talks about の being used to make a verb into a noun, but to me, the statement doesn’t make sense with の. Without の, wouldn’t he just be saying that he stopped? Since の is there, it like he’s describing his past state of being as “stopping.” Is that right? I don’t see how to change “I stopped” into a noun. Thanks!
Yes, I think the word order is confusing, too.
They use conversion in this sentence.
A normal way to say this sentence is: はい。やめたの、もうかなり昔ですよ。
It’s やめたのは、to be exact, but you can omit the particle when you speak.
But I guess it’s easier to understand if it has は since it often follows a noun.
やめたの（は） That I stopped playing golf
もうかなり昔ですよ was long before.
That explanation makes sense. Thanks!
No problem.
In situation 4, could you also say, へー、いつかいほうするの？ (開放)
Because when you use the kanji 公開 it means ‘open to the public,’ right? And that’s what Aki was asking, When will the cafe be open to the public?
Yes, Haru is asking Aki when the cafe is going to start the business.
The most appropriate word in this situation is 開店 (かいてん): 開(open) + 店(shop).
It is used when shops or restaurants start a business and let people in so that they can sell their commodities or service.
開放 means “to let people go in and out freely by opening a door or a gate.
It’s used for both building and open space such as a park.
公開 means to let people enter to see some exhibition such as paintings and movies, events like a trial for a famous person or special buildings like monuments.
I guess definitions in dictionaries are sometimes confusing.
I’m a bit confused about this bit:
Where does しれない come from and do with this sentence? It is not reflected in the translation as I understand.
Please help a nitpicking guy out!
かもしれない expresses the speaker’s guess.
It here means “seem”, “likely,” or “look like” in English.
“The place where a new shop seems to start a business.”
The speaker is not sure if the new shop actually starts a business, but it seems that way by its look.
In the translation, ” might be” conveys the idea, I guess.
ハナ先生ありがとう
どういたしまして。:)
This first question from the following dialogue is somewhat confusing to me.
田中たなか：今いまはどうなんです？やってます？
Is なん superfluous here? If なん wasn’t included the question, it would still be translated the same right? Couldn’t it still be interpreted as “How/What about now?” Thanks!
There is a difference in nuance.
なんです(か) can imply a few feelings depending on a context.
Here, it expresses the speaker’s interest in knowing something.
By saying なんです？, 田中 is not simply asking the question:
he’s implying he’s curious or eager to know if 佐藤 still plays golf.
I don’t know how you convey the difference in written English, though.
I think I understand. So the speaker could still ask the question without なん, but then that would convey that the speaker doesn’t expect to find the answer particularly interesting. To me it sounds like using なん is a succinct way in this case to ask “Please tell me, what about now? I really want to know.”
Yes, you got it right.
The speaker could ask the question without なん, but doesn’t convey his interest that much: the speaker is just asking a question.
Because of its nature of “eager to know”, it can sound like “demanding an answer” if you use it in a negative situation.
Supposing that 田中 just found out that 佐藤 used to play golf on company’s expenses.
And if 田中 asks 今はどうなんです？, it sounds like he’s accusing 佐藤 and demanding the answer if he’s still doing it:
“What about now? Are you still doing it?!”
Thanks for explaining another situation where there’s different context. I appreciate it!
No problem! 🙂
Very helpful