こんにちは。ゆうこ先生です。今日のレッスンは私のオンラインコースのサンプルレッスンです。
Today's lesson is a sample lesson from my online course,
Japanese 2 for Beginners.
Until June 30, 2020, you can get this course with a discount by signing up
for the course packages.
There are only a few more days left to get these packages so please go to the school
website if you are interested, SmileNihongo.com/class.
Or, check the description box below.
I hope you enjoy this sample lesson.
では、はじめましょう。
You have learned how to ask the question, "what is it?" なんですか in the previous
section.
In this lesson, let's add something new to the question so that you can use the question
"what is it" in more situations.
Here is one example question that you have learned so far.
なまえはなんですか。Or, おなまえはなんですか。
"As for your name, what is it?" meaning "What is your name?"
Now in this lesson, we are going to learn something like this.
これは、なんですか。これはなんですか。
Let me first explain this particular word, これ. これ means "this" or "this one"
in English.
You don't have to know the grammatical terms but this type of word is called demonstrative
pronouns.
In English, these are demonstrative pronouns.
This, that, these or those.
In Japanese, we have three major ones that we use in our daily lives.
This, that, and that over there.
As you just learned "this" in Japanese is これ, これ.
"That" in Japanese is それ, それ.
And "that over there" is あれ, あれ.
Let's say this is you, the speaker, talking to your friend, the listener, about an apple
you are holding in your hands.
In this situation, you are going to refer to the apple as "this" or "this one" これ
because it is closer to you than the listener.
So, you would say things like "これ is delicious" or "これ was cheap" or "I got これ at
the store nearby" for example.
Now, let's say the apple is in your friend's hands and you are still talking about the apple.
Here, you are going to refer to the apple as "that" それ, right, because it's closer
to your friend now and not you.
You would say "それ looks delicious" or "How much was それ?" for example.
Like this, それ is used to refer to something closer to the listener or somewhat in the
same distance and not too far away from both of you.
And what about this now?
The apple is sitting on the shelf far away from both of you.
To refer to the apple, what would you say?
Right.
You have to say "that over there", right?
So, in Japanese, you say あれ、あれ.
Then you can say something like "あれ is a famous apple" or "how much is あれ?"
So, these are the three pronouns to indicate the distance to the item in reference to the
speaker and listener talking about it.
This これ, that それ, and that over there あれ.
And you can make sentences like these.
これはりんごです。"Apple" in Japanese is りんご。So, これはりんごです
means "This is an apple."
それはりんごです。それはりんごです means "That is an apple."
あれはりんごです。あれはりんごです means "That over there is an apple."
Now, let's use these words for the question "what is it?" なんですか。
These questions are going to be very handy especially when you go to Japan and are surrounded by many
unfamiliar items that you don't know the name.
Then you can simply point the item and ask what is this, what is that, or what is that
over there, right?
Let's learn how to do that in Japanese.
The first one.
これは、なんですか。これはなんですか.
Literally, you are asking "as for this thing near me, what is it?"
So the question means "what is this?" in English.
これはなんですか。
It's kind of weird that you don't know what apple is so let's change the item to this.
Do you know what this is?
Slimy and smelly brown beans in a package that you can find in any grocery store in
Japan.
I eat it every single day, by the way, but anyway, let's say you don't know what this
is and ask your friend "what is this?"
これはなんですか。
And your friend would refer to it as "that" and say "that is Natto."
それはなっとうです。それはなっとうです。
なっとう is fermented soybeans that have a long history in Japanese food culture.
It is very healthy for your gut but it has a distinctive texture and smell so some people
love it and other people hate it.
I love Natto and personally believe that Natto must be one of the reasons why
Japanese people have such a long life span.
A healthy gut creates a healthy body, you know.
You can google and learn more about Natto if you are interested, ok?
Now if your friend has Natto in his hand and you are wondering what that is, then you can
ask "What is that thing in your hand?"
それはなんですか。それはなんですか。
And your friend would respond "this is Natto."
これはなっとうです。これはなっとうです。
Here is another situation.
You are doing sightseeing in Tokyo with your friend.
You noticed a high silver tower standing in a distance and wondering what that is.
So, you want to ask your friend, "what is that over there?"
How do you ask the question in Japanese?
Right.
あれはなんですか。あれはなんですか。
And your friend would respond "that over there is the Skytree."
How do you say that in Japanese?
Right.
あれはスカイツリーです。あれはスカイツリーです。
Or, as a response to the question, this is good enough.
スカイツリーです。
So, when you want to find out what the item is in your sight, you can simply point and
ask what is this, what is that, or what is that over there depending on the physical
distance between you and the listener.
This set of これ, それ, あれ is one of the こそあ Series that we have in Japanese.
Unlike in English, we have another set of "this, that, that over there" which are この,
その, あの.
There is one more set in this こそあ series to indicate locations as in "here, there,
and over there."
ここ, そこ, あそこ.
I'm going to explain the differences between these three groups in another lesson since
it's going to be too much information for you in one lesson. OK?
Ok, to wrap up today's lesson, let me introduce another very useful question that you can
use on your next trip to Japan.
Now, instead of "what is it?" let's say you want to ask "how much?" as in
How much is this?
How much is that? Or,
How much is that over there?
The question word "how much" in terms of the amount of money in Japanese is いくら、いくら.
So, "how much is it?" is いくらですか。いくらですか。
"How much is this?" これはいくらですか。これはいくらですか。"
How much is that?"
それはいくらですか。それはいくらですか。
"How much is that over there?"
あれはいくらですか。あれはいくらですか。
So, when you are shopping in Japan and want to ask for the price of a dress that is quite
close to both of you and the store clerk, you can ask "how much is this?"
これはいくらですか？これはいくらですか。
If there is a little space between you two and the store clerk is holding the dress,
then you ask "how much is that?"
それはいくらですか。それはいくらですか。
きょうのレッスンはどうでしたか。
How was today's lesson?
I hope you enjoyed it.
Again, this is a sample lesson from my online course, Japanese 2 for Beginners.
My online courses are self-paced and there is no time limit to complete the course.
You can learn Japanese at your own pace with my support.
Until June 30, 2020, you can get this course with a discount by signing up for the course
packages, Japanese 1&2, 2&3, 1, 2, 3,
or any other packages.
You can find all the information about my courses and packages in the description box below.
では、またつぎのレッスンであいましょう。