Pop Quiz #1!
POP QUIZ TIME! Get out two #2 pencils and a sheet of paper. Just kidding. Take this quiz below based on everything we’ve learned so far. Good luck! がんばって! (gan-bat-te; “Do your best!”, “Good luck!”)
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POP QUIZ TIME! Get out two #2 pencils and a sheet of paper. Just kidding. Take this quiz below based on everything we’ve learned so far. Good luck! がんばって! (gan-bat-te; “Do your best!”, “Good luck!”)
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Here are a new batch of words that refer to locations. You’ll notice the similarities between these and the demonstratives we just learned the last few days. Using this pattern really helps you understand distances from participants in a conversation as well as question words. In the next few days, we’ll explain more about how to use these words, but for now, some example sentences:
This one is really fun to say:
Try these out!
We just learned demonstrative pronouns (これ(ko-re)、それ(so-re)、あれ(a-re)、どれ(do-re)). Now it’s time to take a look at demonstrative adjectives. These words are very similar to the pronouns, except that they require a noun that they are describing to follow after. For instance, let’s go back to the ramen shop:
Depending on the context of a conversation, これ(ko-re; “this”) can be too vague for the listener to determine what type of thing exactly the speaker is talking about. By changing it to:
it is now clear that A is talking about the ramen that is right in front of him. Continued:
These adjectives are used in conjunction with nouns to help clarify context. The noun lets the listener know what type of thing the speaker is referring to, and these adjectives let the listener know the distance away from the speaker they are.
Today’s word is:
This word is used when the topic of conversation involves multiple items, but you don’t know which item is being referred to.
Once again- to the ramen conversation!:
Because A is asking about a bowl of ramen far away, and there may be multiple bowls of ramen at the surrounding tables, B cannot be sure which one A is talking about.
Japanese differs from English when using demonstrative pronouns (“this”, “that”) in that there is a separate word to refer to an object that is away from both the speaker and the listener (just like Spanish, as mentioned previously).
Let’s add onto our ramen conversation:
It takes some getting used to, but these words are great for helping understand the context of a sentence in fewer words that it would take in English to say the same thing. Tomorrow, we’re going to have a special word of a similar nature. Keep studying!
When referring to an object that is closer to the listener, you would say:
Let’s modify the ramen conversation from yesterday’s post:
Until tomorrow, where we will learn how to say “that over there”.
When referring to objects ambiguously, in English, we just say “this” for objects close to the speaker, and “that” for objects away from the speaker. Japanese, however, has three: “this” (close to the speaker), “that” (close to the listener), and “that over there” (away from both the speaker and the listener). For those of you that speak or have studied Spanish, you will notice that Spanish has the same thing (“este”, “ese” “aquel”). For today, let’s focus on “this”.
If your friend just put a bowl of ramen in front of you, and you wanted to ask if it was spicy or not, you could ask:
Tomorrow, we will take a look at how to say “that”.
This is a little bit tricky, but the way you say “no” ううん(u-un) informally in Japanese sounds very close to the way you informally say “yes” うん(un).
This is also pronounced with your lips closed (try saying “ooh-oon” with your lips closed). Whereas うん(un) is pronounced with a falling tone, ううん(u-un) has an rising tone on the first う(u), and a falling tone on the うん(un). Let’s see the example:
(“’a-na-ta wa jon de-su ka?”; “Are you John?”)
(“’u-un, wa-ta-shi wa jon de wa a-ri-ma-sen.”; “No, I am not John.”)
It’s tricky to tell the difference at first, but if you practice listening to Japanese, you’ll get the hang of it!
You just learned that はい(ha-i) is the Japanese word for “yes”. However, that is the formal, polite way to say it. When speaking informal Japanese to your friends, you can just say うん(un).
It is worth noting, however, that this is typically not pronounced as it looks, saying “oon” with your lips open, but rather, it is done with your lips closed.
(“a-na-ta wa John de-su ka?”; “Are you John?”)
(“un, John de-su.”; “Yeah, I’m John.”)
Now that you’ve learned the word for “Yes”, it’s time to learn “No”.
In English, “no” can be used to mean the absence of something (“no way”, “no doubt”), or just to respond negatively to a question asking for confirmation. In Japanese, the word いいえ(i-i-e) is only used for the latter. For example:
This is using not only what we learned in today’s lesson, but what we previously learned (〜ではありません(de wa a-ri-ma-sen); “is not”).
What themed words do you want to learn next week? (Results on Tuesday!)
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