Episode 25 – Japanese Made Easy

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Hi this is Greg, welcome to Japanese Made Easy episode 25. All episodes are cumulative so please start with episode 1. In this episode we’ll be making sentences that contain both は(wa) and が(ga), and we’ll pick up a really useful way to ask somebody here in Japan, if it’s ok to do something.

Let’s start with a little bit of translating for review. Translate each line as best you can.

犬(いぬ)は好き？ (Inu wa suki?)  This is asking… Do you like dogs?

うん、好(す)きよ。(Un, sukiyo.) Yeah, I like like them.

Recalling that “like” is an adjective in Japanese, this is actually more like.. “Yeah, they are liked” by me.

ペット飼(か)ってる？(Petto katteru?)  Do you have any pets？

うん、犬(いぬ)飼ってるよ。(Un, inu katteruyo.) Yeah, I have a dog.

音楽(おんがく)は好(す)きですか？ (Ongaku wa sukidesuka?)  Do you like music?

はい。ジャズとブルースが好(す)きですよ。 (Hai. Jazu to burūsu ga sukidesuyo.) 　Yes, jazz and blues are liked.

With the nuance of が (ga) being under the over-all category of music which was mentioned, jazz and blues are what I like. Natural English, just “Yes, I like jazz and blues.”

And we had our pattern names if you recall…

Starting with the item, and asking if it’s liked with “Somethingは好き(wa suki)？”

and

Stating that something from a broader category is liked with

Somethingが好き (ga suki) .

Finally, let’s revisit some “what” questions which we’ll be needing in today’s lesson. How would you translate these questions?

何人(なんにん)いた？(Nannin ita?) or the polite version

何人いましたか？(Nannin imashitaka?) 　Literally, what number of people existed? How many people were there?

and this one… Asking about little bitesize cupcakes…

何個(なんこ)食(た)べたの？(Nanko tabetano?)  How many did you eat?

With ko being the counter we would use in place of cupcakes.

Finally, how would you translate this?

何(なに)飲(の)んだ？ (Nani nondano?) And the polite version…

何(なに)を飲(の)みましたか？ (Nani o nomimashitaka?) I’d say…

What did you drink? What did you have to drink?

With that, Emi and her friend Lebron meet for coffee. Lebron is tall and athletic, so Emi asks him about sports. Listen to this short dialog, recalling out use of “what” pronounced as a standalone word.

何（なに）(nani) 

スポーツは好(す)き？(Supōtsu wa suki?) 

Not feeling confident in his Japanese yet, he just answers..

うん、好き。(Un, suki.) She follows up…

スポーツは何が好き？(Supōtsu wa nani ga suki? ) He answers…

バスケが好きだよ。(Basuke ga sukidayo.)  Listen again…

スポーツは好き？(Supōtsu wa suki?) 　 Sports regarding them, like?

うん、好き。(Un, suki.)  Yeah, like

スポーツは何(なに)が好(す)き？ (Supōtsu wa nani ga suki?)  Sports は or regarding them, what が or what is the thing that is being, liked?

バスケが好きだよ。(Basuke ga sukidayo.)  Basketball is being liked…

So, that’s how it all breaks down literally. So understand that, but if you want to remember something just remember that a “what do you like?” question is simply a

何が好き？(Nani ga suki?)  pattern. It’s just that simple.

Polite Japanese, try asking somebody what kind of pizza they like?

Start with regarding pizza…

ピザは何(なに)が好きですか？(Piza wa nani ga sukidesuka?) 

Ask, “What kind of music do you like?”

音楽(おんがく)は何が好きですか？(Ongaku wa nani ga sukidesuka?) 

What kind of movies do you like?

映画(えいが)は何が好きですか？ (Eiga wa nani ga sukidesuka?) 

What kind of juice do you like?

ジュースは何が好きですか？(Jyūsu wa nani ga sukidesuka?)  Super casual could actually drop both particles.

ジュース、何好き？(Jyūsu, nani suki?) or maybe…

ジュース、何が好き？(Jyūsu, nani ga suki?) No rules for casual, just tendencies.

Ok, let’s get a new word. Super useful for clarifying things.

例(たと)えば 例えば (tatoeba) 

Let’s see if you can get the meaning from an entirely Japanese conversation. Some serious contextual input.

スポーツ、何が好き？(Supōtsu, nani ga suki?) 

スポーツ？(Supōtsu?) 

うん、例(たと)えば。。。サッカー、ゴルフ、テニス。(Un, tatoeba… sakkā, gorufu, tenisu..)

Hmm.. 野球(やきゅう)が好きかな。。。(Yakyuu ga sukikana…) Could you get the meaning of

例(たと)えば　(tatoeba)　Listen again and we’ll break it down.

スポーツ、何(なに)が好き？(Supōtsu, nani ga suki?)  What sports do you like?

スポーツ？(Supōtsu?)  Sports?

うん、例(たと)えば。。。サッカー、ゴルフ、テニス。(Un, tatoeba … sakkā, gorufu, tenisu.) 

Yeah, for example… soccer, golf, tennis.

Hmm.. 野球(やきゅう)が好きかな。。。(Yakyuu ga sukikana…) Hmm.. Baseball, I guess.

Now, let’s expand on the questions we can ask with this 何が (nani ga) pattern…　

スポーツは何(なに)ができる？ (Supōtsu wa nani ga dekiru?) What sports can? or..

What sports can you do? What sports can you play?

スポーツ？(Supōtsu?) 

うん、例(たと)えば　サッカー、ゴルフ、テニス。。。(Un, tatoeba … sakkā, gorufu, tenisu…) 

Emi’s friend Lebron would probably answer like this…

バスケができるよ。(Basuke ga dekiruyo.)  I can play basketball.

Ok, let’s get in a bit more practice then we’ll take a break. We’ll ask a “Do you like?” question, then follow up with “for example” Megumi will do the first one…

音楽(おんがく)は好き？(Ongaku wa suki?) 

例えば。。。ロック、クラシック、ブルース、ジャズ？(Tatoeba….Rokku, kurashikku, burūsu, jazu?) 

We heard a new genre… classical sounds like “classic”

クラシック クラシック(kurashikku) 

Ask, somebody if they like sports, then say for example… and list three sports that you know.

スポーツは好き？(Supōtsu wa suki?) 

例えば(tatoeba)。。。ボーリング(bōringu)、クリケット(kurikketto) 、テニス(tenisu)、スノーボード(sunōbōdo)、サッカー(sakkā)、フットボール(futtobōru) 、野球(やきゅう)(yakyuu)、ホッケー(hokkē) 

We heard cricket in there and hockey at the end.

クリケット (kuriketto) 

ホッケー (hokkē)

I listed a bunch just for review. Ask somebody if they like sushi…

then say for example… and name any that you might know…

寿司(すし)は好き？(Sushi wa suki?) 例えば(tatoeba)… サーモン(sāmon)、マグロ(maguro)、ウニ(uni)。

That was a variety of sushi that are common in Japan.

サーモン(sāmon) …salmon very tasty.

マグロ (maguro)…tuna also pretty good、

ウニ(uni) …sea urchin, tastes like a spoonful of bitter dirt. But that’s just my opinion and gotta try everything at least once.

Ok, and back to the beginning.

Ask somebody if they like music and name a few types.

音楽は好き？(Ongaku wa suki?) 例えば(tatoeba)。。。ロック(rokku)、クラシック(kurashikku)、ブルース(burūsu)、ジャズ(jazu)？

Ok, let’s take a break.

———————————– Tip Of The Day

The following is a true story. I was in a grocery store here in Japan, and I’d never actually learned the word for ketchup.

I was pretty sure it was close to the English pronunciation, so I asked, in Japanese of course. “Excuse me.. Where might the ketchup be?”

The lady wasn’t understanding my pronunciation of Ketchup. I’d never actually practiced it. I tried a few more times but no luck.

So, I changed gears. I described it. It’s red, it comes in a plastic bottle, it’s a liquid, we squeeze it and put it on things like hamburgers and hot dogs. She says, “Oh… you mean ketchup.”

I could swear that’s how I had pronounced it.. but anyway..

Or this, can you guess what am I describing?

It’s a fruit, it’s red, it’s round, it’s about this big, showing that I can hold it in one hand. When we bite it, a happy green worm wearing a graduation cap usually pops out. So, of course… apple.

With the ability to describe, I can ask about pretty much anything if I don’t know what the word for it is. I can get clarification on things, and ask just about anything. It’s really handy.

And really, for Ketchup I could have just said.. “It’s red and we put it on hotdogs and hamburgers.” and I bet she would have figured it out.

So today’s tip is learn topical words, category words… sports, music and other broad category words like that. So that, if you aren’t being understood you can at least get the listener to narrow down their thinking until they can guess what you mean.

———————————– Tip Of The Day

Alright, by now you should be pretty comfortable with talking about yourself without using any words to refer to yourself. But since we are getting into some は and が patterns, let’s reveal a little more about what is going on.

If somebody starts with the word music, and asks if I like it…

音楽は好きですか？ (Ongaku wa sukidesuka?) And I answer…

はい、ジャズが好きですよ。(Hai, jazu ga sukidesuyo.) Of course I’m talking about myself.

In English we will often include the word “I”… so, I’ll assume by now you have come across the common word for “I” in Japanese somewhere other than this podcast, but what it will look like is… “I regarding” or “Me, regarding”

私は and this is where you get the common unnatural textbook examples…

私(わたし)はジャズが好きです。(Watashi wa jazu ga sukidesu.)  So that you can see what’s going on with particles, the first part is just… Regarding me, which is understood and so it’s just being dropped, leaving us with

ジャズが好きです。(Jazu ga sukidesu.)  So this over-all pattern is really…

I は(wa), thing が(ga) like. …or with dekiru..

I は(wa) thing が(ga) can.

That’s as much explanation as we want to get into, and the more explanation there is the more confusing it can get.

What I wish somebody had just told me when I was starting out, I’ll tell you now. The following questions in English:

What do you like?

What do you want?

What is good?

What can you do? are all “what ga” patterns..

What ga like? (好き) (suki)

What ga good ?　(いい)(ii)

What ga want?　(欲(ほ)しい)(hoshii)

I teach this next idea maybe in the very first Unit of Japanese Mastery Method, so apologies if it’s review, but this is such a handy word to know if you are headed to Japan. So, let’s get it from context…

I gesture toward and empty seat next to somebody, and ask

いいですか？(Iidesuka?) They say.. “Sure go ahead, nobody’s sitting here.” So, I sit down.

I’m at the metal detector in the airport and I gesture like I want to proceed through, I ask…

いいですか？(Iidesuka?) The security guy says.. “Hold on a minute.” So, I wait.

A person at the grocery store is standing by a display with little cheese samples on a plate. Megumi wants to try one so she gestures toward the plate and says…

いいですか？(Iidesuka?) The person says.. “Sure take one.”

You see some pamphlets on a table. You aren’t sure if you can take one or not. You want to ask if it’s ok. You gesture toward them and ask.. what?

いいですか？(Iidesuka?)  You are literally asking, Good is?

In English we would say, Is it ok if I take one of these? or Can I take one of these? Can I proceed?

In Japanese, we can communicate the same idea with a gesture toward the thing we are referring to and a polite

いいですか？(Iidesuka?) 

If casual, for example after dinner with the family and there is one cookie left on the plate, Megumi might reach for it, making eye contact and kind of confirming that it’s ok with everyone.. saying..

いい？ (ii?) They say, “Yeah yeah, go ahead, take the last cookie.” Or just…

どうぞ(douzo.)  as in.. go ahead.

So this is really useful early on from a practical standpoint, just keep in mind the situation has to be clear to the listener.

There is something to be taken, picked up, touched, or to proceed through, etc. With that we can ask another common “What ga” question using

いい いい (ii) which means “good” as in a situation is good, good for me, good for you, but it’s not used for tastes good.

To recall it, just think the letter E is a good letter. A B C and D are so-so. But E… is a very good letter. So we will translate this as “good”

Planning what to eat for dinner, a person might ask

何(なに)がいい？(Nani ga ii)   パスタ？(pasuta)  カレーライス？(karēraisu)　You don’t want pasta so you say curry rice. One more time…

何がいい？(Nani ga ii) パスタ？(pasuta) カレーライス？(karēraisu)

何がいい？(Nani ga ii) What が (ga) good? What would be good, not as in tasty. In English we might say, “What works for you?”

You are going to order take-out. Maybe pizza or sandwiches, maybe pasta. Ask somebody what would be good… As in, “What works for you?

何がいい？(Nani ga ii?) ピザ ？(Piza)  サンドイッチ ？(Sandoicchi)  パスタ？(pasuta)

Recalling the word for “When”

いつ 　いつ (itsu)  Ask somebody…

When would be good for you? Monday.. Tuesday?

いつがいい？(Itsu ga ii?) 月曜日(げつようび)？(Getsuyoubi) 火曜日(かようび)？(Kayoubi) 

Ask.. Where would be good for you?

どこがいい？ (Doko ga ii?) As I mentioned so that you don’t mess up with other particles, just remember that these what questions are “Whatが…”

What ga like?

What ga good ?

What ga want?

The word for “Want”

欲(ほ)しい 欲しい (hoshii) is missing from our studies so far.. so let’s just go with it… Can you translate this?

何(なに)が欲(ほ)しい？(Nani ga hoshii?)  What が (ga) want? As in, if receiving something.

“What do you want for a graduation present?” for example.

Recalling this word

誕生日(たんじょうび) (tanjyoubi)  birthday and

プレゼント(purezento)  present…

If you get this next one right before hearing the answer, you have made a ton of progress in Japanese. Seriously.

So take a second to think about it. Try asking somebody “Regarding a birthday present, what do you want?”

誕生日プレゼントは何が欲しい？ (Tanjyoubi purezento wa nani ga hoshii?) 

How’d you do? Now that you know the answer, try saying it again.

“What do you want for your birthday?”

誕生日プレゼントは何が欲しい？(Tanjyoubi purezento wa nani ga hoshii?) Using the word dessert…

デザート デザート (dezāto) As in planning for later, ask somebody what they want for dessert.

デザートは何が欲しいですか？(Dezāto wa nani ga hoshii desuka?) 

Desert regarding, what is the thing that is being wanted?

A little bit more practice and we’re done. All kind of casual, we’ll leave the particles in… ask somebody..

Regarding bands, what do you like?

バンドは何が好き？(Bando wa nani ga suki?) 

Regarding music, what do you like?

音楽(おんがく)は何が好き？(Ongaku wa nani ga suki?) 

Regarding Sushi, what do you like?

寿司(すし)は何が好き？ (Sushi wa nani ga suki?)  Let’s change that to What would be good, or what works for you?

Regarding sandwiches, what would be good?

サンドイッチは何がいい？ (Sandoicchi wa nani ga ii?)  Remember the letter E is the good letter.

Regarding movies, what would be good? What works for you?

映画(えいが)は何がいいですか？ (Eiga wa nani ga ii desuka?) 

Finally, some “What do you want?” As in planning for later…

What do you want for desert?

デザートは何が欲しい？ (Dezāto wa nani ga hoshii?)  and again,

What do you want for your birthday present?

誕生日プレゼントは何が欲しい？(Tanjyoubi purezento wa nani ga hoshii?) 

Using good or いい (ii) 

Ask these three questions without stopping…

What would be good? When would be good? Where would be good? Go..

何がいい？ (Nani ga ii?) 

いつがいい？ (Itsu ga ii?) 

どこがいい？ (Doko ga ii?) Ok, last one.

Try asking “What would be good?” “What do you like?” “What do you want?”

何がいい (Nani ga ii?) 

何が好き (Nani ga suki?) 

何が欲しい (Nani ga hoshii?) 

Alright that about does it…

I want to thank you for listening to this podcast, and especially for all the emails and great feedback you sent.

If you haven’t written already, I’d love to hear how you did throughout the podcast, so please feel free to email me. That’s support (@) JapaneseMadeEasy.com

Hopefully you’ll continue on with any of my courses over at JapaneseMasteryMethod.com, but wherever your path takes you, I hope you continue to speak Japanese.

Your investment in the language will pay dividends for a lifetime. Take care.