Lesson Dialogues
Situation 1
Miyuki and Lisa are choosing sneakers.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
リサは何をかわいいと思いますか?
A スマホ
B バッグ
C スニーカー
D ノート
ミユキ:このスニーカー、どう思う?
Miyuki: What do you think of these sneakers?
- これ this, these; この this, these (possesive): この車 this car
- スニーカー sneakers
- どう how; what; どう思う?What do you think?; how about; ラーメンどう?How about (eating) ramen?
- 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.
リサ:うん、いいと思うよ。かわいいね。
Lisa: Hm, I think they are nice. Aren't they cute?
- うん (casual, non-keigo) yes; yeah
- よい、いい good: 映画よかった! The film was great!; you may use this to indicate your preference or choice: 私、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.
- ~よ、~よー introduces new information; emphasises a sentence: 朝だよ!It's morning!
- かわいい cute; nice; lovely
- ~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).
ミユキ:ほんと?これは、どうかな?
Miyuki: Really? What about these?
- ほんと truth; right; really
- ~かな indicates uncertainty; softens a sentence: ちょっと寒いかな。I think it's a bit cold.
リサ:うん、このスニーカーもいいね。
Lisa: Hm, these sneakers are nice too.
Situation 2
Lisa's mother is preparing a meal.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
リサはご飯を一緒に____。
A 食べる
B 食べない
母:ごはん、一緒に食べる?
Mother: Do you want to join us for the meal? (Do you want to have a meal together?)
- ごはん rice; meal
- 一緒 together; with
- 食べる to eat
リサ:ううん、まだ食べない。
Lisa: Nah, I'm not eating yet.
- ううん nuh-uh; no (non keigo)
- まだ yet; still: まだ帰れない。I can't go home yet.
- 食べない negative form of 食べる
母:わかった。じゃあ、先に食べていいかな?
Mother: Okay. In that case, can we go ahead and eat?
- わかった past form of 分かる
- 分かる to understand; to see
- じゃあ well, so, then; だったら
- 先 before; first (as in "you go first"); end; front; future
- 食べて te-form of 食べる; 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...
- ~ていい it's OK to __; 食べていいよ。You can eat (it's OK to eat); 食べなくていいよ。You don't have to eat (It's OK not to eat)
リサ:うん、いいよ。先に食べてて。
Lisa: Yeah, sure. Go ahead and eat.
- ~ていて、~てて te-form of ~ている、~てる; 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?
Situation 3
Sato-san and Suzuki-san are looking at a movie poster.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
鈴木さんはその映画を見ましたか?
A はい
B いいえ
佐藤さん:この映画、見ましたか?
Sato-san: Have you seen this movie?
- 映画 movie
- 見ました past form of 見ます
- 見ます ます form of 見る; ~ます makes a keigo (polite) sentence
- 見る to see; to look; to watch; to check; we use 観る for things like sports or TV shows
鈴木さん:いえ、最近の映画ですか?
Suzuki-san: No. Is it a recent movie?
- いえ no; colloquial version of いいえ
- 最近 recently; lately
佐藤さん:はい、最近です。
Sato-san: Yes, it's recent.
鈴木さん:最近、映画は見てないです。でも、今度見てみますね。
Suzuki-san: I haven't seen any movies recently, but I'll try watching it next time.
- 見て te-form of 見る; 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...
- ~ていない、~てない negative form of ~ている、~てる
- 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.
- 今度 next time; sometime; this time
- ~てみます ます form of ~てみる; ~ます makes a keigo (polite) sentence
- ~てみる to try and ___; to try something; to attempt to do something; 食べてみる。I'll try eating.
Situation 4
Suzuki-san and Sato-san are looking at a photo.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
この写真の人は、誰ですか?
A 友達
B 学校の先生
C 子供
D 母
鈴木さん:この写真の人は、誰ですか?
Suzuki-san: Who is the person in this photo?
- 写真 picture; photo
- 人 person; people; human being
- 誰 who
佐藤さん:学校の先生です。英語を教えています。
Sato-san: He's a school teacher. He teaches English.
- 学校 school
- 先生 teacher; professor; doctor
- 英語 English language
- 教えて te-form of 教える; 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...
- 教える to teach; to tell
- ~ています、~てます ます form of ~ている; ~てる makes a keigo (polite) sentence
鈴木さん:へえー。どんな先生ですか?
Suzuki-san: Wow. What kind of teacher is he?
- へえー oh, yes?; really?
- どんな what kind of: どんな音楽が好き?What kind of music do you like?
佐藤さん:学校で一番面白い先生です。
Sato-san: He's the most interesting teacher at school.
- 一番 number one; first; most
- 面白い interesting; fun; funny
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 does it mean to have a second “te” as in
リサ:うん、いいよ。先に食べてて。
Is that last “te” the kind that means the same thing as “wa” ?
nevermind… I think I get it
tabete ite
is simply shortened to
tabete te
right?
Yes, you got it correctly.
It’s supposed to be 先に食べていて, but it’s shortened to 食べてて.
verbていて often turns to てて in spoken language.
Thanks for confirming that. This is one reason I appreciate this site. There are so many commonly used contractions and variations that I would not be exposed to otherwise.
No problem. And thank you for your kind comment. I’ll convey it to the team.
Hello,
there is a little typo in the second situation at:
Mother: Okay. In that case, can we go ahead and eat?
先 bofore; … -> should be “before”
Thank you so much for reporting it. I’ve notified the team.