Learn Japanese through Dialogues: Meetings and Greetings
DIALOGUE ONE: Meeting for the First Time
In this article, we will examine a dialogue between two people who are meeting for the first time. Listen to the dialogue while going through the text, spend some time going through the grammar notes, and then listen to it once more--this time, hopefully, with greater comprehension.
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Let's begin today's lesson...
Dialogue One: in Japanese Meeting for the First Time
ćÆććć¾ćć¦ććć¤ćÆćØē³ćć¾ćć
hajimemashite. Maiku to moushimasu.
How do you do? I am Mike.
ćÆććć¾ćć¦ is the most common greeting when meeting people for the first time.; ćØē³ćć¾ć
is a polite (humble) way to introduce one's name.
- ćÆććć¾ćć¦ hajimemashiteānice to meet you
- ćć¤ćÆ maikuāMike
- ćØ
toā(quotation marker; used to set off the name)
- ē³ćć¾ć moushimasuāto be called [this set phrase comes from the verb ē³ć mousu meaning āto speakā or āto call.ā]
ćÆććć¾ćć¦ćē±ē¾ć§ćć
hajimemashite. Yumi desu.
Nice to meet you. I'm Yumi.
Another way to say your name is simply "(name) desu." You may notice your name doesn't fit well into Japanese. For example, "Smith" becomes "sumisu" because the sounds in Japanese donāt allow for the "sm" combination and the "th" sound isn't found in Japanese. Ask a Japanese friend or a Japanese forum online how your name would be written in the Japanese sound system.
- ćÆććć¾ćć¦ hajimemashiteānice to meet you
- ē±ē¾
yumiāYumi [common girl's name]
- ć§ć desuāthe copula [often used like the English āto beā but also used to show existence, a state, and identity.]
ć©ćććććććé”ććć¾ćć
douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Pleased to meet you.
ć©ćććććććé”ććć¾ć is commonly used after ćÆććć¾ćć¦. It means something like, "please treat me well."
- ć©ćććććććé”ććć¾ćć douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasuāpleased to meet you (set phrase)
ć©ćććę„ć¾ćććļ¼
doko kara kimashita ka?
Where are you from?
ć©ć = where; ćć = from; ć©ććć = from where -- ę„ć¾ćć is one of the few irregular verbs in Japanese. ę„ć (plain form) = ę„ć¾ć (masu form) both mean "to come," but the masu form is more polite.
- ć©ććć doko karaāfrom where [ć©ć where + ćć from]
- ę„ć¾ćć came [past polite form of ę„ć¾ć to come]
ć¢ć”ćŖć«ć§ćć
amerika desu.
America. (U.S.)
In Japanese, you can often drop information that was previously introduced or is expected. So instead of saying, "I am from America" or "it is America," you can simply say, "is America."
- ć¢ć”ćŖć« amerikaāUSA
- ć§ć desuāthe copula [often used like the English āto beā but also used to show existence, a state, and identity.]
ć¢ć”ćŖć«ć®ć©ćć§ććļ¼
amerika no doko desu ka?
Where in America?
You can think of ć® as a limiter. It limits the information: ć¢ć”ćŖć«ć®ć©ć = Not just any "where" but "Where in America?"
- ć¢ć”ćŖć« amerikaāUSA
- ć® noā(limiter or possessive marker; shows relationship between two words or phrases and limits the latter to that of the former)
- ć©ć dokoāwhere
- ć¢ć”ćŖć«ć®ć©ć amerika no dokoāwhere in America
- ć kaā(question marker)
ćććŖćå·ć§ćć
furorida shuu desu.
Florida.
å· means "state" and is used with the fifty US states. Japan has prefectures and most are called ē.
- ćććŖćå·
furorida shuuāstate of Florida [å· is the word for states as in the states in the US]
ćććŖććÆćęćć§ćććļ¼
furorida wa atsui deshou?
Florida is hot, isn't it?
ć§ććć implies the speaker is expecting an affirmative answer. It is a very useful sentence tag for when you aren't sure of your statement or don't want to hurt the sensibilities of the listener.
- ćććŖć furoridaāFlorida
- ćÆ wa [topic particle; written with hiragana "ha" but pronounced "wa."]
- ęć atsuiāhot; warm
- ć§ććć deshouāisn't it? [ć§ććć can mean "I wonder," "don't you agree," "I guess," etc.
ćÆććęćć§ććē±ē¾ććć®åŗčŗ«ćÆć©ćć§ććļ¼
hai, atsui desu. yumi-san no shusshin wa doko desu ka?
Yes, it is hot. Where are you from?
åŗčŗ« = place of one's origin (usually hometown as in this example). The " ha" here is the topic particle and is pronounced "wa." This is one of the very, very few irregularities in Japanese pronunciation.
- ćÆć haiāyes
- ęć atsuiāhot; warm
- ē±ē¾ććć® yumi san noāYumi's [Always use ćć with a person's name unless you know them very well.]
- åŗčŗ«
shusshināhometown; person's origin
- ć©ćć§ćć doko desu kaāwhere is it?
ę±äŗ¬ć§ćć
toukyou desu.
Tokyo.
Literally, "Tokyo is" (It is Tokyo). As mentioned earlier, if information is obvious or has been previously introduced, it is very often dropped.
- ę±äŗ¬
toukyouāTokyo
åćÆćę±äŗ¬ć儽ćć§ćć
boku wa toukyou ga suki desu.
I like Tokyo.
ļ½ć儽ć = (I) like ~
- å
bokuāI; me [used mostly by males]
- ę±äŗ¬
toukyouāTokyo
- 儽ć sukiālike
ććć§ćććććē§ćÆćććććä»äŗć«č”ććŖćć”ćććććććć¾ćć
sou desu ka, a, watashi wa sorosoro shigoto ni ikanakucha. sore ja mata.
Really? Oh! I have to go to work soon. See you later.
ććć§ćć here means "Is that so?" but it is a very versatile phrase with many meanings depending on context and how it is said.
- ććć§ćć sou desu kaāis that so [a common phrase]
- ć aāah!
- ē§
watashiāI; me [most common first person singular pronoun used by both males and females]
- ćććć sorosoroāsoon [often used when politely letting someone know you will be leaving soon]
- ä»äŗć« shigoto niāto work
- č”ććŖćć”ć ikanakuchaā(I) have to go [shortened from ćććŖććć°ćŖććŖć ikanakereba naranai]
- ćććć sore jaāwell, then
- ć¾ć mataāsee you again [literally: again]
ćÆććććććŖćć
hai, sayounara.
Yes, goodbye.
ććććŖć isn't used as much as you may think. It is often used when saying goodbye to someone for a long period of time.
- ćÆć haiāyes; okay
- ććććŖć sayounaraāgoodbye
Listen to the dialogue again. This time with repetition.
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