Lesson Dialogues
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* Hover over or tap words to see definitions:
Situation 1
At school, Hiroto is talking with his classmate Yuko.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
ヒロトは今日、新しいスマホを買いましたか？
A はい
B いいえ
ヒロト：スマホ買いたいな。
ユウコ：もう持ってるじゃん。
ヒロト：うん。でも、新しいの買いたくて。
ユウコ：どんなの？
ヒロト：もっといいカメラ付いたスマホ。
Situation 2
At the company, Suzuki-san is talking with his colleague Yamada-san.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
山田さんは、____英語が喋れる。
A すごく
B 少しだけ
C 今日だけ
D たくさん
鈴木：英語喋れるんですね。山田さん。
山田：少しだけですが。なんで知ってるんですか？
鈴木：この前見たんで。電話で喋ってるところ。
Situation 3
At home, Yuya is talking with his girlfriend Saki.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
今日は、____だ。
A 月曜日
B 火曜日
C 水曜日
D 木曜日
ユウヤ：今日って、何曜日？
サキ：火曜日だよ。
ユウヤ：じゃあ、映画行かない？
サキ：いいけど。なんで？
ユウヤ：チケット安くなるから。火曜日は。
Situation 4
On the street, Ohnishi-san is talking with his neighbor, Kojima-san.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
小島さんは、彼女がいますか？
A はい
B いいえ
大西：彼女、いますか？
小島：はい、いますよ。
大西：へー。何してる人ですか？
小島：学校の先生です。
大西：そうなんですね。
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Hi. I have a question, in situation 4 the phrase ‘へー。何してる人ですか？’ Does this not mean ‘What kind of person is your girlfriend (as context)’ rather the translation here is ‘What did she do’. Can you explain it?
A literal translation for 何してる人ですか？can mean “What kind of things does the person basically do ?”, which actually means “What does the person do for a living?”
This question asks about the person’s occupation.
If you’d like to ask ‘What kind of person’, you can say どんな人ですか？
This question asks about the person’s character.
Was 人 needed at all? Wouldn’t 何してるの say the same?
You can express it in a different ways without using 人.
However, you should be clear that you ask about her job.
For example, you can say 仕事は何しているの？ – What does she do for work?
If you just say 何してるの？, it would usually mean “What is she doing right now?”, which would sound a bit unnatural in this context, because it implies you’re asking about her current action, not her job.