Episode 23 – Japanese Made Easy

Full Episode Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Exercises Only

Welcome to episode 23 of the Japanese Made Easy podcast. In this episode we’ll be learning a big chunk of some need to know vocabulary and we’ll be clearing up an issue with the “ni” particle.

To start , let’s do a quick review using some of the words we learned from the last lesson, in combination with our suggestion construction.

It’s summer and we walk into our friends apartment. Our friend likes to save money on

電気(でんき) (denki) or… electricity. So she doesn’t turn on the

エアコン (eakon) Kenji is sweating and can’t take the heat.

How would you translate what he says?

エアコンつけようか？(Eakon tsukeyouka?)   How about turning on the air conditioner?

Listen to Emi’s reply.

暑(あつ)い？ (Atsui?) ごめん。。(Gomen) つけましょう。(tsukemashou) She said a word we haven’t covered yet, then a casual.. “sorry”

ごめん。(gomen)  Then let’s turn it on.

つけましょう。(tsukemashou) 

The room is too dark. How would you suggest turning on the lights?

電気つけよう。(Denki tsukeyou.) Remember that

電気 (denki) literally means electricity, and does not mean “lights” , this is just a common way to express turning on the lights, or turning on the power to something. The polite version…

電気をつけましょう。(Denki o tsukemashou.) 

Speaking of that, how would you suggest turning off the TV?

テレビ消(け)そう。(Terebi kesou.) How would you make that into a polite question?

Shall we turn off the TV?

テレビを消しましょうか？(Terebi o keshimashouka? )

Tom mentions getting tickets to a concert. This is an easy cognate.

チケット　チケット (chiketto)

We’ll ask him, how many he bought. Here’s where Japanese can be difficult. The phrasing of things, and things to be considered are just different from English. But get the patterns down, and it’s not that bad.

So, when the question is related to how many of something, or if we are saying how many of something there are, and so we need to consider the item’s size and shape, and then use the corresponding counter. So, again…

A ticket is thin and flat, so we’ll go with the counter for thin and flat things. We understand we are talking about tickets so we don’t need to mention it. So, how would we ask “How many did you buy?”

何枚(なんまい)買(か)った？(Nanmai katta?) 

So, that was “what” (implying “what number of”) flat and thin objects, and the past tense of buy. One more time…

何枚買った？(Nanmai katta?) He answers, “I bought four.”

四枚(よんまい)買ったよ。(Yonmai kattayo.) 

A quick side-note about tickets. Tickets for entertainment purposes, for example events, concerts, sports, and that kind of thing use the cognate

チケット　チケット　(chiketto)　bus tickets, train tickets, tickets for things we ride use a different word.

Ok, end of our review.

Since we talked about words and core meanings, lets listen and try to pick out the core sound for the following four related words.

先週(せんしゅう)(senshuu)、今週(こんしゅう)(konshuu)、来週(らいしゅう)(raishuu)、週末(しゅうまつ)(shuumatsu)

Again, what’s the common sound in each word?

先週(せんしゅう)(senshuu)、今週(こんしゅう)(konshuu)、来週(らいしゅう)(raishuu)、週末(しゅうまつ)(shuumatsu)

so we heard the sound

週(しゅう)(shuu) This will be an easy way to quickly get four need to know words.

Let’s figure them out from context.

先週(せんしゅう)(senshuu) I was in Tokyo on business for three days.

今週(こんしゅう)(konshuu) I am currently in Osaka. I’ll be here for a couple days.

来週(らいしゅう)(raishuu) I going to go to Kyoto.. I’ll be there next Tuesday through Friday.

Listen again, and consider that time related words are typically at the front in Japanese. One more time…

先週(せんしゅう)(senshuu) I was in Tokyo on business for three days.

今週(こんしゅう) (konshuu) I am currently in Osaka. I’ll be here for a couple days.

来週(らいしゅう)(raishuu) I going to go to Kyoto.. I’ll be there next Tuesday through Friday.

I don’t work on Saturdays and Sundays. I always have

週末(しゅうまつ) (shuumatsu) off. 　

So, that’s a lot and we don’t remember it all yet, but did you get the core meaning of

週(しゅう)(shuu)？

A natural non literal translation would be

Last week, This week, Next week, and Weekend. Say this three times fast.

“sen, kon, rai sen, kon, rai sen, kon, rai…”

Remember that pattern as it can be used for weeks and months as well.

Back to weeks…

先週(せんしゅう)(senshuu)、今週(こんしゅう)(konshuu)、来週(らいしゅう)(raishuu)、

sen, kon, rai. sen, kon, rai. Last week

先週(せんしゅう) (senshuu)this week

今週(こんしゅう) (konshuu) next week

来週(らいしゅう)(raishuu)

“sen, kon, rai. sen, kon, rai.”

I know, it sounds funny, but it will help you keep them strait when improvising sentences. Just use the English word shoe, to remember the Japanese core meaning of “week”

I bought shoes… this week. I bought shoes… konshoe

Or visualize a calendar with a shoe covering the first week of the month.

When I’m learning new words, I always try to think of a quick play on words or sounds, or I make a visualization whenever I can. So it’s a good habit to get into.

Try saying… Last week…

先週(せんしゅう)(senshuu) this week

今週(こんしゅう) (konshuu) next week

来週(らいしゅう) (raishuu) weekend…

週末(しゅうまつ)(shuumatsu)

Maybe.. On weekends I put my shoes on a matt. Imagine a karate mat, and your shoes sit there all weekend.

A little extra attention like this to a new word helps with recall.

Casual Japanese, try saying… I went to Tokyo last week.

先週(せんしゅう)、東京(とうきょう)に行(い)った。(Senshuu, toukyou ni itta.) 

I’m going to go Tokyo this week.

今週(こんしゅう)、東京に行く。　(Konshuu, toukyou ni iku.) 

I’m going to go to Tokyo next week.

来週(らいしゅう)、東京に行く。(Raishuu, toukyou ni iku.) 

and the word for weekend?

週末(しゅうまつ)。　(shuumatsu)

Here’s why we want to remember that “sen, kon, rai” pattern…

Can you guess the meaning of these…

先週末(せんしゅうまつ) (senshuumatsu)

今週末(こんしゅうまつ) (konshuumatsu)

来週末(らいしゅうまつ) (raishuumatsu)

This is a lot of information, but I imagine you are hanging in there. This will all be on the practice audio so you can go over it multiple times.

Try saying… I went to Kobe, last weekend.

先週末(せんしゅうまつ)、神戸(こうべ)に行(い)った。(Senshuumatsu, koube ni itta.) 

I’m going to Fukuoka this weekend.

今週末(こんしゅうまつ)、福岡(ふくおか)に行く。(Konshuumatsu, fukuoka ni iku.) 

I’m going to Sendai next weekend.

来週末(らいしゅうまつ)、仙台(せんだい)に行く。(Raishuumatsu, sendai ni iku.) 

Ok, that might have been a lot, so let’s take a break here…

———————————- Tip Of The Day

Recently a listener wrote in wondering how many times they should listen to the practice audios. Well, everybody is different and so there really isn’t a magic number, but what I recommend for those or any material is to listen as much as you can, as often as you can, whenever and where ever you can for at least three to five days.

Basically until you experience the following… Which is, you wake up and one of the very first thoughts you have is a word or line from what you have been listening to over and over just pops into your head.

This means you are really internalizing the material. And it will happen. I mean literally you will wake up, and some word or phrase will just pop into your head, and you’ll be able to say it perfectly.

Listening to something until you experience this phenomenon means you are really helping with your pronunciation as well. It’s sinking in, being absorbed.

So we don’t want just “I understand, so I’ll move on.” Go for, “I understand, and I’ve heard this so many times it’s about memorized without trying.”

You’ll know when you are done when you wake up and some Japanese just pops into your mind.

———————————- Tip Of The Day

For this next section we need to revisit a couple ideas from Episode 18.

Just listen…

Is today Valentines day?

今日(きょう)はバレンタイン ？(Kyou wa barentain?) Is today Halloween?

今日はハロウィン？(Kyou wa harowin?)  Is today, Christmas?　

今日はクリスマス？(Kyou wa kurisumasu?) 

Then

バレンタインは2月(にがつ)14日(じゅうよっか)です。(Barentain wa nigatsu jyuuyokka desu.)  and casual.

バレンタインは2月14日だよ。(Barentain wa nigatsu jyuuyokka dayo.) 

Super literally that was, Valentines, wa for stating a simple facts, 2 month, 14 day. Less literally, Valentines wa, 2nd month, 14th day. Naturally

Valentines is on February 14th. Let’s quickly knock out months. Got soup this month?

１月(いちがつ)(ichigatsu)、２月(にがつ)(nigatsu)、３月(さんがつ)(sangatsu)、４月(しがつ)(shigatsu)、５月(ごがつ)(gogatsu)、６月(ろくがつ)(rokugatsu)、７月(しちがつ)(shichigatsu)、８月(はちがつ)(hachigatsu)、９月(くがつ)(kugatsu)、１０月(じゅうがつ)(jyuugatsu)、１１月(じゅういちがつ)(jyuuichigatsu)、１２月(じゅうにがつ)(jyuunigatsu)

Easy enough right? Just simple numbers and gatsu for month. Let’s repeat them one time.

１月(ichigatsu)、２月(nigatsu)、３月(sangatsu)、４月(shigatsu)、５月(gogatsu)、６月(rokugatsu)、７月(shichigatsu)、８月(hachigatsu)、

９月(kugatsu)、１０月(jyuugatsu)、１１月(jyuuichigatsu)、１２月(jyuunigatsu)

Ok, This will be a good chance to revisit the “に” particle and clear up some confusion that can occur.

Essentially, when dealing with dates and times, when do we need “に” and when do we not need it. In previous episodes we’ve been using “に” with specific days, times, and months… so let’s compare patterns to get an idea of when we don’t need “に” with time expressions. Luckily, Japanese and English are similar in this regard.

月曜日(げつようび)に会(あ)いましょう。(Getsuyoubi ni aimashou.)  This would translate as “Let’s meet on Monday.” We used the name of the day of the week so we use “に”

Next, in English how about this sentence? Let’s meet on tomorrow. Just as we wouldn’t use “on” in English, we won’t use it in Japanese.

It’s not a specific name.

明日(あした)、会(あ)いましょう。(Ashita, aimashou.)  Tomorrow, let’s meet. Just as we do in English, “Let’s meet tomorrow.”

How about for specific times…

明日の９：００に会いましょう。(Ashita no kuji ni aimashou.)  Tomorrow’s 9:00, or 9:00 of tomorrow, ni.. let’s meet. The same as in English. Let’s meet tomorrow, at 9:00.

In English, which of the following do we go with? “Let’s go next week.” or “Let’s go on next week.” ?

Same in Japanese. Next week is not a specific name or time, so we don’t need “に”

来週(らいしゅう)、行(い)きましょう。(Raishuu, ikimashou.)  But this next one…

Literally, Next week’s Wednesday, let’s go. Let’s go next week on Wednesday. Let’s go on Wednesday of next week.　

来週の水曜日(すいようび)に行きましょう。(Raishuu no suiyoubi ni ikimashou.) 

You try one…

After dinner with your co-worker Ron, he says it’s too early to call it a night, he looks right at you and asks…

カラオケ行く？ (Karaoke iku? )

Literally, just “Karaoke go?” This is fine for casual Japanese, implying the entire question, “Do you want to go to karaoke?”

You’re thinking… With Ron.. ? Alone? No way.

You stick to polite Japanese, which indicates some degree of distance in your relationship, and tell him

“Let’s go next week.”

来週(らいしゅう)、行きましょう。(Raishuu, ikimashou.) Then add.. “with friends…”

友達(ともだち)と。 (Tomodachi to.)  He feels the distance, and switches to polite Japanese.

How would he say… Let’s go, on Wednesday of next week?

来週(らいしゅう)の水曜日(すいようび)に行きましょう。(Raishuu no suiyoubi ni ikimashou.) 

Then he says.. How about it?

どうですか？ (Dou desuka?) You quickly check your calendar app, then .. say..

“Let’s go in October.” How would you say that?

10月(じゅうがつ)に行きましょう。(Jyuugatsu ni ikimashou.) Did you use “に” because we mentioned the specific month?

Just for practice try saying.. “Let’s go in December.”

12月(じゅうにがつ)に行きましょう。(Jyuunigatsu ni ikimashou.) Try saying, “Let’s go next week.”

来週(らいしゅう)、行きましょう。(Raishuu, ikimashou.) Let’s go tomorrow…

明日(あした)、行きましょう。(Ashita, ikimashou.) 

Remember this pattern? “sen, kon, rai…”

Let’s apply it to months. With one small alteration in the pronunciation.

Just listen.

先月(せんげつ)(sengetsu)、今月(こんげつ)(kongetsu)、来月(らいげつ) (raigetsu) one more time

先月(せんげつ)(sengetsu)、今月(こんげつ)(kongetsu)、来月(らいげつ)(raigetsu)

So, the calendar months, we use gatsu,

１月(いちがつ)(ichigatsu)、２月(にがつ)(nigatsu)、３月(さんがつ)(sangatsu), and so on…

When talking about months, such as last month, this month, next month,

generally, we use getsu. Let’s work that anxiety out of our system…

Say, January, February, March.

１月(いちがつ)(ichigatsu)、２月(にがつ)(nigatsu)、３月(さんがつ)(sangatsu)

changing to getsu… say, last month, this month, next month.

先月(せんげつ)(sengetsu)、今月(こんげつ)(kongetsu)、来月(らいげつ)(raigetsu) say… April, May, June

４月(しがつ)(shigatsu)、５月(ごがつ)(gogatsu)、６月(ろくがつ)(rokugatsu)　 and again…

last month, this month, next month.

先月(せんげつ)(sengetsu)、今月(こんげつ)(kongetsu)、来月(らいげつ)(raigetsu)

Let’s do weeks and months… Try saying, last week, this week, next week

先週(せんしゅう)(senshuu)、今週(こんしゅう)(konshuu)、来週(らいしゅう)(raishuu)

and one final time.. last month, this month, next month

先月(せんげつ)(sengetsu)、今月(こんげつ)(kongetsu)、来月(らいげつ)(raigetsu)

Let’s wrap it up…Not a trick question.

What’s the word for Monday in Japanese?

月曜日(げつようび) (getsuyoubi) Does that “getsu” sound familiar?

Take a look at the text transcript version at JapaneseMadeEasy.com

and you’ll see that these are all written with the same Kanji. That is, the kanji for moon. So, if you learn the word for moon, you will then know three different readings for that kanji…

So.. heck why not. It’s easy.

月(つき) 月 (tsuki)I want to go skiing on the moon some day.

月　(tsuki) That’s how to remember it. The sun and the

月 (tsuki) With that, go back and look at the text, now you know three readings for the kanji for moon, or

月 (tsuki) and just remember the silly phrase, “I want to go skiing on the moon some day.”

Ok, that’s it for the teaching part. Now just an interesting point if you didn’t know. All of the kanji for days of the week, are natural elements.

Monday uses the kanji for moon 月(つき) (tsuki)

Tuesday fire 火(ひ) (hi) 

Wednesday water 水(みず) (mizu)

Thursday wood or tree 木(き) (ki)

Friday metal or gold 金(きん) (kin)

Saturday dirt or ground 土(つち)(tsuchi)

Sunday, the sun or day 日(ひ)(hi) 

So, if you do care to learn kanji, since you know the days of the week, you have at least one reading for each of those kanji.. which is pretty cool.

For homework, practice saying the months from January to December, and making the switch from last month, this month, next month.

And of course take advantage of the practice audios always available at Japanese Made Easy.com.