Unit II (25:48)
Listen to this Japanese conversation:
sumimasen, nihongo ga wakarimasu ka?すみませんにほんごがわかりますか？sukoshi.すこし。anata wa amerikajin desu ka?あなたはアメリカじんですか？hai, eigo ga wakarimasu ka?はいえいごがわかりますか？iie, watashi wa eigo ga wakarimasen.いいえわたしはえいごがわかりません。
Vocabulary introduced:
aa – ah
arigatou – thank you (informal); used when receiving
genki – fine, energetic
genki desu – I’m feeling well, fine
gozaimasu - “humbly”; added for politeness, formality
ikaga – how
ikaga desu ka? – how are you?
jozu – skilled, good
jozu ja arimasen – I’m not skilled; customarily used as a humble response to a compliment
konnichiwa – good afternoon, hello; used from mid-morning until darkness
ne – no? isn’t it? don’t you think?
ohayou - good morning (literally “early”); used until 10:00 or 11:00
okage sama de – thank you (literally “thanks to you”); used when asked about one’s health
sayounara – goodbye
Let’s try a conversation:
konnichiwaこんにちは。konnichiwaこんにちは。ikaga desu ka?いかがですか？genki desu, okage sama de.げんきですおかげさまで。anata wa amerikajin desu ka?あなたはあめりかじんですか？hai, watashi wa amerikajin desu.はいわたしはあめりかじんです。nihongo ga wakarimasu ka?にほんごがわかりますか？sukoshi, nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu.すこしにほんごがすこしわかります。anata wa nihongo ga jozu desu ne.あなたはにほんごがじょずですね。iie, jozu ja arimasen.いいえじょずじゃありません。sayounara.さようなら。sayounara.さようなら。
Notes:
On おかげさまで –
おかげさまで (okage sama de) is used to express appreciation for someone’s concern for your wellbeing. It is an important expression that serves to facilitate daily interactions. It not only appears in the context where a person is thanking another for asking whether he or she is fine, but you may also hear it used as a response to an inquiry about a family member. Although it literally means “thanks to you”, okage sama de is used in situations where the person asking the question has clearly not contributed to the health, success, accomplishment, etc. of you or someone in your family. It is used simply to show your appreciation for his or her concern.
On expressions of deference in Japanese communication –
Along with the Japanese tendency to credit the other person for one’s own accomplishment, success, good health, and so on, as a sign of good will, the Japanese frequently display extreme modesty and deference in daily communication. When someone compliments the Japanese on good work, nice clothes, a beautiful house, wonderful dinner, etc. it is customary to downplay their abilities, possessions, etc. Though maybe seen as too modest by American standards, this is socially acceptable behavior in Japan. This humility is only seen as avoiding appearing to be arrogant or conceited
On ね –
In this unit you have heard ね (ne), at the end of sentences. It is roughly equivalent of the English, “isn’t it?” “aren’t you?” “don’t you?” etc. The use of ne shows that the speaker expects the listener to agree with him or her. You’ll hear this used frequently in Japanese, in fact, some people may end virtually every sentence with ne. Living in a more collectivistic society than the us, the Japanese value being aligned with and maintaining harmonious relationships with others. The frequent use of ne may illustrate their desire to avoid any conflict or disagreement with one another.
