Hi, I’m having a question about the comprehension quiz of the second situation. The second question there is “田中さんは、英語をよく話せますか？”, which I translated as: “Does Mr. Tanaka OFTEN speak English?”. He speaks English 毎日 – everyday, so the answer would be はい – yes but the correct answer is いいえ – no. So when I thought about it, よく can be translated as often OR well, so the sentence could also mean “Does Mr. Tanaka speak English well?”, which he does not.
So now my actual question: What is the difference between よく, that is translated as “often” and よく, that is translated as “well”? How could I have seen here, that the question refers to how well he speaks English instead of how often?
I understand your confusion.
If I were to make the sentence, I won’t use よく.
I would either say:
田中さんは英語をうまく話せますか？
or
田中さんは英語を上手に話せますか？
which sound more natural.
As you already understand, よく can mean either “often,” “well” or “enough” depending on the context.
Here, you can tell what it means by the word 話せる (be able to speak).
If it means “often,” the sentence should be
田中さんは英語をよく話しますか？
Thanks a lot for your reply. I also already thought, that you could use 上手 to more specifically ask about how well he speaks English. And if I’m correct, you could also use the word しばしば to more specifically ask, if he speaks English often, right?
Also, I totally didn’t pay attention to the potential form here, my bad. You’re right, with the “can speak”, the question would be: “Can Mr. Tanaka speak English well?” That makes more sense now. So thanks for your clarification.
>And if I’m correct, you could also use the word しばしば to more specifically ask, if he speaks English often, right?
ー Yes, しばしば means “often,” but is a written word, and I have never actually used it myself or heard someone else use it. I have seen it in newspaper articles, though.
Oh, I see… That’s the problem, if you use a translator… 😅 It only teaches you written Japanese… So, thanks for telling me it’s a writtenn word and not used in spoken Japanese. 😊
Yes, it is confusing, but somehow I will get there eventually. 😊
Thanks a lot for the compliment, I’ve indeed been learning Japanese a lot. 😊 Right now, I’m studying Japanese for over a year already. 😊
In the first one, when the teacher said ほんと。いつか、分わかる時ときが来くるよ。
i need some help understanding the pronunciation when he says the word (ほんと) maybe i’m just hearing it wrong but i hear something close to あんた。
maybe is this how some men pronounce the word or a dialect?
Do you mean his ほんと sounds like あんた?
If so, I don’t hear that way.
When you focus on only vowel sounds, they are “o-n-o” and “a-n-a”.
So, it may sound similar if the pronunciation of “a” and “o” are vague.
His accent is a bit odd, but at least he pronounces right and it sounds ほんと, not close to あんた.
Niels
2 years ago
Why doesn’t the student in situation 1 use keigo when talking to the teacher?
That’s a good point.
Generally, as you may already know, keigo is used for people who are older or in a position of respect in Japanese society.
However, some students talk to teachers casually as if they were dealing with their parents or close adult.
It depends on their personalities, but the most stereotypical situation that happens is when a student is aggressive, bossy or cheeky, while a teacher is gentle, soft, friendly, shy or timid.
From a student’s point of view, they don’t use keigo when they like the teacher or sort of look down on him/her.
Some teachers welcome it, and some teachers can’t say no to it. lol
Also, some kids don’t know how to use honorifics. So elementary schoolers tend to speak casually to a teacher.
I guess some teachers and students like to talk without honorifics since they feel it brings them closer.
That’s right! You got the idea.
The students kind of choose which teacher they can talk to casually.
In addition to the above conditions, those teachers are often young.
MP3
Hi, I’m having a question about the comprehension quiz of the second situation. The second question there is “田中さんは、英語をよく話せますか？”, which I translated as: “Does Mr. Tanaka OFTEN speak English?”. He speaks English 毎日 – everyday, so the answer would be はい – yes but the correct answer is いいえ – no. So when I thought about it, よく can be translated as often OR well, so the sentence could also mean “Does Mr. Tanaka speak English well?”, which he does not.
So now my actual question: What is the difference between よく, that is translated as “often” and よく, that is translated as “well”? How could I have seen here, that the question refers to how well he speaks English instead of how often?
I understand your confusion.
If I were to make the sentence, I won’t use よく.
I would either say:
田中さんは英語をうまく話せますか？
or
田中さんは英語を上手に話せますか？
which sound more natural.
As you already understand, よく can mean either “often,” “well” or “enough” depending on the context.
Here, you can tell what it means by the word 話せる (be able to speak).
If it means “often,” the sentence should be
田中さんは英語をよく話しますか？
Thanks a lot for your reply. I also already thought, that you could use 上手 to more specifically ask about how well he speaks English. And if I’m correct, you could also use the word しばしば to more specifically ask, if he speaks English often, right?
Also, I totally didn’t pay attention to the potential form here, my bad. You’re right, with the “can speak”, the question would be: “Can Mr. Tanaka speak English well?” That makes more sense now. So thanks for your clarification.
説明してくれてありがとうございます!
どういたしまして。^ ^
>And if I’m correct, you could also use the word しばしば to more specifically ask, if he speaks English often, right?
ー Yes, しばしば means “often,” but is a written word, and I have never actually used it myself or heard someone else use it. I have seen it in newspaper articles, though.
>That makes more sense now.
ー I’m glad to hear that!
Oh, I see… That’s the problem, if you use a translator… 😅 It only teaches you written Japanese… So, thanks for telling me it’s a writtenn word and not used in spoken Japanese. 😊
もう一度ありがとうございます!
I understand what you mean. It’s so confusing.
You ask good questions, though. I can see you’ve been learning a lot.
Keep up the good work!
その調子で学習を続けてください。^ ^
Yes, it is confusing, but somehow I will get there eventually. 😊
Thanks a lot for the compliment, I’ve indeed been learning Japanese a lot. 😊 Right now, I’m studying Japanese for over a year already. 😊
学習を頑張り続けますよ。
That’s impressive. You’re on the right track!
応援しています！ ^ ^
Thanks a lot! 😊
本当にありがとうございます!
🙂
In the first one, when the teacher said ほんと。いつか、分わかる時ときが来くるよ。
i need some help understanding the pronunciation when he says the word (ほんと) maybe i’m just hearing it wrong but i hear something close to あんた。
maybe is this how some men pronounce the word or a dialect?
Do you mean his ほんと sounds like あんた?
If so, I don’t hear that way.
When you focus on only vowel sounds, they are “o-n-o” and “a-n-a”.
So, it may sound similar if the pronunciation of “a” and “o” are vague.
His accent is a bit odd, but at least he pronounces right and it sounds ほんと, not close to あんた.
Why doesn’t the student in situation 1 use keigo when talking to the teacher?
That’s a good point.
Generally, as you may already know, keigo is used for people who are older or in a position of respect in Japanese society.
However, some students talk to teachers casually as if they were dealing with their parents or close adult.
It depends on their personalities, but the most stereotypical situation that happens is when a student is aggressive, bossy or cheeky, while a teacher is gentle, soft, friendly, shy or timid.
From a student’s point of view, they don’t use keigo when they like the teacher or sort of look down on him/her.
Some teachers welcome it, and some teachers can’t say no to it. lol
Also, some kids don’t know how to use honorifics. So elementary schoolers tend to speak casually to a teacher.
I guess some teachers and students like to talk without honorifics since they feel it brings them closer.
Does it answer your question?
makes sense as the student was a little arrogant and the teacher was polite and tried to be friendly
That’s right! You got the idea.
The students kind of choose which teacher they can talk to casually.
In addition to the above conditions, those teachers are often young.