SUBJECT:

JAPANESE LANGUAGE

 

 

TOPIC:

Going by Taxi

 

 

SOURCE:

Association for Japanese-Language Teaching (1994) Japanese for Busy People I (Revised Edition) Lesson 7

 

 

DATE:   

20 Jan 2003

 

 

 

LESSON DIALOGUE

 

Mr. Smith visits Mr. Tanaka on Sunday.

 

Tanaka:

Sumisu-san, yoku irasshaimashita.

Sumisu:

Konnichiwa.

Tanaka:

Dōzo ohairi kudasai.

Sumisu:

Shitsurei shimasu.Kyōto no shisha ni ikimasu.

Tanaka:

Dōzo kochira e. Basu de kimashita ka.

Sumisu:

Iie, takushī de kimashita.

Tanaka:

Dōzo okake kudasai.

Sumisu:

Arigatō gozaimasu.

 

Sumisu-san wa nichiyōbi ni takushī de Tanaka-san no uchi ni kimashita.

 

Translation

 

Tanaka:

Mr. Smith, how nice of you to come.

Smith:

Hello.

Tanaka:

Do come in.

Smith:

May I?

Tanaka:

This way please. Did you come by bus?

Smith:

No. I came by taxi.

Tanaka:

Do sit down.

Smith:

Thank you.

 

Mr. Smith went to Mr. Tanaka’s house by taxi on Sunday.

 

Vocabulary

 

yoku irasshaimashita

yoku

irasshaimashita

ohairi kudasai

hairimasu

shitsurei shimasu

kochira e

de

takushī

okake kudasai

kakemasu

ni

how nice of you to come, welcome

well

came (polite)

do come in

enter

may I (I’m afraid I’ll be disturbing you)

this way

by (particle)

taxi

please sit down

sit

on (after times) (particle)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTES

 

1.                    SHITSUREI essentially means rudeness and is used when entering a house or room, passing in front of someone, leaving in the middle of a gathering and so on, in other words, when creating some sort of disturbance and interrupting the status quo. Some people use it as a form of  “goodbye”, instead of SAYŌNARA, when leaving a house or room.

2.                    The particle DE follows nouns to express means: e.g. BASU DE means (travel) by bus, PEN DE means (write) with pen, NIHON-GO DE means (speak) in Japanese, IYAHŌN DE means (listen) with earphones, FUNABIN DE means (send) by sea mail.

3.                    Specific expressions of time take the particle NI as in the following: e.g. 5-JI NI means “at 5 o’clock”, DO-YŌBI NI means “on Saturday”, 12-NICHI NI means “on the 12th”, 1960-NEN NI means “in 1960”.

4.                    NANI/NAN DE means “how”, e.g. Nan de ikimasu ka. “How will you go?” Basu de ikimasu. “I’ll go by bus.” An exception to this pattern is ARUITE IKIMASU, “I’ll walk.”

 

 

USEFUL VOCABULARY

 

de

ni

 

nan de

nan-nen

-nen

raigetsu

raishū

ototoi

 

irasshaimasu

kakemasu

 

hikōki

kazoku

kōen

takushī

 

kochira e

ohairi kudasai

shitsurei shimasu

yoku irasshaimashita

 

by (particle)

on (particle)

 

how, by what means

what year

year

next month

next week

the day before yesterday

 

come (polite)

sit

 

airplane

family

park

taxi           

 

this way

please enter (polite)

may I disturb you

how nice of you to come (polite)

 

KEY SENTENCES

 

1.                    Kurāku-san wa 5-gatsu 18-nichi ni Kanada kara Nihon ni kimashita. “Mr. Clark came to Japan on May 18 from Canada.

2.                    Kurāku-san wa rainen 3-gatsu ni Kanada ni kaerimasu. “Mr. Clark will go back to Canada in March of next year.”

3.                    Watashi wa chikatetsu de kaisha ni ikimasu. “I go to the office by subway.”

4.                    Sumisu-san wa nichiyōbi ni takushi de Tanaka-san no uchi ni ikimashita. “Mr. Smith went to Mr. Tanaka’s house by taxi on Sunday.”

5.                    Dare ga kyō Kyōto shisha ni ikimasu ka. “Who is going to the Tokyo branch tomorrow?”

 

SHORT DIALOGUES

 

Japanese Dialogue

 

Tanaka:

Kurāku-san wa itsu Nihon ni kimashita ka.

Kurāku:

Kyonen no 5-gatsu 18-nichi ni kimashita.

Tanaka:

Kyōto ni ikimashita ka.

Kurāku:

Ee, senshū Shinkansen de ikimashita. Kin-yūbi ni Tūkyū ni kaerimashita.

 

Translation

 

Tanaka:

When did you come to Japan?

Clark:

I came on May 18 last year.

Tanaka:

Did you go to Kyoto?

Clark:

Yes, I went (there) by Shinkansen last week. I returned to Tokyo on Friday.