Lesson Dialogues
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* Hover over or tap words to see definitions:
Situation 1
At his part-time job, Keigo is inviting his senior employee, Yukari, out to eat.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
けいごは、____がもう終わる。
A 仕事
B ご飯
C お店
D 問題
けいご：今日ご飯どうですか？
ゆかり：行くのはいいけど。まず仕事して。
けいご：俺はもう終わりますよ。仕事。
ゆかり：ほんと？はやいじゃん。
Situation 2
Tanaka-san is talking with a senior employee, Kimura-san, in the parking lot at their office.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
あの車は、田中さんの車ですか？
A はい
B いいえ
田中：木村さんのですか？あの車。
木村：うん。最近買ったんだ。
田中：かわいい車ですね。
木村：ありがとう。
田中：私も車買いたいです。
Situation 3
Miyuki is talking with her friend Yuji about his previous girlfriend.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
ゆうじは、前の彼女の事がまだ好きですか？
A はい
B いいえ
みゆき：まだ好きなの？前の彼女の事。
ゆうじ：ううん。もう好きじゃないよ。
みゆき：そっか。
ゆうじ：なんでそんな事聞くの？
みゆき：別に。教えない。
Situation 4
Ryu and his classmate Akira are doing homework together.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
あきらは、____三つ目の問題をしている。
A 今から
B 後から
C 上から
D ここから
りゅう：今どの問題してる？
あきら：上から三つ目。
りゅう：おんなじとこだ！
あきら：結構簡単だよね。
りゅう：僕わかんないんだ。教えてよ。
あきら：いいよ。
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Hello! There is something I do not understand, first sentence situation 3: まだ好きなの？前の彼女の事.
Wouldn’t be enough: まだ好きなの？前の彼女. Why is there …..の事?
ありがとう
Both are correct. And the difference in nuance between the two is subtle.
Asking まだ好きなの？前の彼女が emphasizes who the person still likes.
It corresponds to: “Do you still like your ex-girlfriend?”
Asking まだ好きなの？前の彼女の事 emphasizes the person’s feelings about her.
It corresponds to: “Do you still have feelings for your ex-girlfriend?”
or “Do you still feel something about your ex-girlfriend?”
(Situation 4 dialogue 5) isn’t the negative for わかる（分からない) or is (わかんない）just another way of writing the negative form. If so can you do that for all う verbs.
No, it’s from a dialect used around Tokyo area. The ら is changed to ん because it’s easier and quicker to pronounce. It works in a negative form with ない. And the example is limited.
Examples:
わからない ⇒ わかんない
つまらない ⇒ つまんない (boring)
触(さわ)らない ⇒ 触んない (not touch)
関(かか)わらない ⇒ 関わんない (not involve)
Is it rare to use the phrase:
一緒食べたいに行きませんか?
versus the first phrase in the lesson:
今日きょうご飯はんどうですか？
When I heard the second phrase I heard it as “How was your food today”
> Is it rare to use the phrase:
一緒に食べ
たいに行きませんか?⇒⇒ It should be 一緒に食べに行きませんか？
– Would you like to go to eat together?
It’s commonly used when a person asks others to go out and eat together.
Examples:
お昼、一緒に食べに行きませんか？
- Would you like to go out for lunch with me (or us)?
おいしいフランス料理の店を見つけました。今度、一緒に食べに行きませんか？
- I found a good French restaurant. Would you like to go out to eat with me sometime?
> versus the first phrase in the lesson:
今日きょうご飯はんどうですか？
When I heard the second phrase I heard it as “How was your food today”
⇒⇒ どうですか means “How about” or “How is” (present tense).
Since “How was your food today” is the past tense, you should change どうですか to the past form as well.
So, “How was your food today” means 今日の食事は、どうでしたか？
I think it sounds more natural if you ask:
今日、何か食べに行きませんか？ – How about going out to eat something today?
or
今日、どこか食べに行きませんか？ – How about going out to eat somewhere today?
I’ve noticed that sometimes some words that can be written with Kanji are being written in Kana. For example here 同じ is written as おんなじ. Is there a difference, and what is the preferred way?
同じ is read as おなじ, not おんなじ. You need to write おんなじ in hiragana since it doesn’t have kanji for it.
It’s easier for Japanese people to pronounce the sound ん, and including it makes a word sound more casual. So おなじ sounds more formal than おんなじ, although they are the same meaning.
The same goes for 皆(みな) and みんな, or あまり and あんまり.
You can use both ways, but the former (without ん) is preferred in business and formal situations, and the latter (with ん) when speaking with close friends.
Oh, I see; thank you for your reply! What about other cases, like 先ず and まず or 多分 and たぶん? Is there any difference?
No problem!
> What about other cases, like 先ず and まず or 多分 and たぶん? Is there any difference?
ー Unlike 同じ and おんなじ, those two pairs read the same.
You can write either way, but many people use まず nowadays since reading 先ず as まず is not considered a standard way.
Personally, I’ve never written it as 先ず.
Many people used to write it as 先ず earlier days, though. Also, there are some proverbs including 先ず.
As for 多分 and たぶん, you can write it in both ways.
But people who write professionally write it as 多分 when it means “many” or “most parts”, and たぶん when it means “probably.” And I follow the same way.
ありがとうございます
どういたしまして。参考になれば嬉しいです。^ ^
When ゆかりさん said 行くのはいいけど。まず仕事して。I thought she was referring to herself but she was telling けいご to do his work first. So I was a little bit confused. So I was wondering if she was actually referring to herself what would she have said instead?
She accepted his invitation, and then told him he should finish his work first if he wants to go out.
So it’s like, “I don’t mind going out to eat with you, but you should finish your work first.”
If I were her, I would reply
行ってもいいけど。or 行くのは構わないけど。
– I don’t mind going out (to eat today).
※構(かま)わない – don’t mind dong something
Does it answer your question?
Quick question, is “なんでそんな事聞くの？” kind of like “why am I hearing such a thing?”
In addition to the meaning of “to hear with the ears,” “聞く” also has the meaning of “to ask a question.”
So, “なんでそんな事聞くの？” means “Why are you asking such a thing?” or “What makes you ask such a thing?”