(shopping)
4. _______tomodachi
(friend)
5. _______ikutsu
(how old?)
6. _______kazoku
(someone’s family)
7. _______kane
(money)
8. _______han
(cooked rice, meal)
9. _______sake
(rice wine)
10. _______hashi
(chopsticks)
11. _______kyōdai
(someone’s brothers and sisters)
12. _______cha
(Japanese green tea)
Expressing Relationships
Throughout the dialogue “How Do You Do?” it is possible to see each person’s relationship to the other. When friends, like Mrs. Oshiro and Mrs. Miyagi, are talking to each other, they do not use the formal speech style (polite forms). However, when they start to talk to Mr. Brown’s family, they use desu forms or masu forms at the end of a sentence, because Japanese people change their speaking style according to vertical relations (e.g., rank, occupation, gender, age, etc.), and they also change it according to general social relationships such as one’s own family members and other people. Therefore, it is easy to know what kind of relationship the speaker and listener have by listening to their conversation.
Making Introductions
When introducing people, priority is given first to rank or status, then to gender or age. In the process of introductions, the style of Americans and Japanese is basically quite similar; for example, when we introduce our family members to acquaintances (shiriai), friends, or co-workers, we will introduce our family members to others first out of respect.
Often when they make introductions, Japanese people use a title, an occupation or a family term in place of saying someone’s name, such as Kochira wa watashi no sensei desu “This is my teacher” or Kanai desu “This is my wife.” And when Japanese people introduce themselves in Japanese, they usually use only their surnames.
Japanese people may bow (called ojigi) instead of shaking hands when introducing each other. Recently, Japanese businessmen have also started shaking hands rather than bowing. However, most Japanese people still bow when they are introduced.
Let’s take a look at examples of three types of introductions below.
1. When you introduce yourself to a group:
| Watashi no namae wa Buraun Naomi desu. | My name is Naomi Brown. |
| Watashi wa Amerikajin desu. | I’m an American. |
| Watashi wa subarashii otto to kawaii musume ga hitori imasu. | I have a wonderful husband and one lovely daughter. |
| Dōzo yoroshiku. | I’m very pleased to meet you. |
2. When you introduce yourself to another person:
| Mr. Tanaka | : | Hajimemashite.Tanaka desu. (How do you do? I’m Tanaka.) |
| Mr. Brown | : | Buraun desu. Hajimemashite. (I’m Brown. How do you do?) |
| Mr. Tanaka | : | Dōzo yoroshiku. (Glad to meet you.) |
| Mr. Brown | : | Kochira koso, yoroshiku onegai shimasu. (I’m very glad to meet you, too.) |
3. When you introduce your family members to others:
Buraun-san, shujin desu.
| Mrs. Miyagi | : | Buraun Robāto desu. (Mr. Brown, this is my husband.) |
| Mr. Miyagi | : | Hajimemashite. Dōzo yoroshiku. (How do you do? Nice to meet you.) |
| Mr. Brown | : | Buraun Robāto desu. Kochira koso, dōzo yoroshiku. (I’m Robert Brown. Nice to meet you, too.) |
Words: otto/shujin (my husband)
Practice
Listen to the conversation of two women, and answer the following questions.
| Words and Phrases: | issho (ni) (together) |
| suteki (nice/great/neat) | |
| doko (where) |
1. Pick out all interjections in the conversations, and write them below.
_______________________________
2. What is Naomi doing?
_______________________________
3. Whom is Naomi with?
_______________________________
4. What is Tomoko thinking that Naomi’s husband is like?
_______________________________
Chapter 5
Help Me!
たすけて！
| ① | Kora! | Hey you! |
| Omaetachi soko de nani yatteru n da? | What are you doing there? | |
| ② | Ǎ, nigero! | Get out of here! |
| ③ | Mate! | Wait! |
| ④ | Tsukamaeta zo. | Gotcha! |
| Kaji da! | Fire! | |
| Dareka! | Somebody! | |
| Tasukete! | Help me! |
Shaded items: Check the “Learning from the Comic” section in this chapter to learn more about these.
Learning from the Comic (page 27)
USING KORA
Kora is usually used when an adult scolds children or reprimands someone. The English equivalent of kora is “Hey (you)” but the Japanese sound is brusque, so it is used mostly by men.
| Kora, mate!Ⓜ | Hey, wait! |
| Kora, nigeru na!Ⓜ | Hey you, don’t run away! |
USING DE
De in soko de nani yatteru n da indicates the location where an action is performed. It may be translated into English as the preposition “at,” “in” or “on.”
| kaisha de | in the company | byōin de | in the hospital |
| gakkō de | at school |
USING ZO
Zo is placed at the end of a sentence and emphasizes the speaker’s feelings or thoughts. It is somewhat stronger than the particle yo (which you’ll learn about a little later). As such, it is usually used toward a friend or an inferior, and most commonly by men in informal speech.
Sometimes it is used when talking to oneself for encouragement and especially when convincing oneself about a particular decision.
Women typically use yo, wa, or wa yo instead of zo.
| Abunai zo.Ⓜ / Abunai yo. | It’s really dangerous. |
| Dekita zo!Ⓜ / Dekita wa! | I
|