SUBJECT:

JAPANESE LANGUAGE

 

 

TOPIC:

Giving and Receiving

 

 

SOURCE:

Association for Japanese-Language Teaching (1994) Japanese for Busy People I (Revised Edition) Lesson 15

 

 

DATE:   

10 Mar 2003

 

 

 

LESSON DIALOGUE

 

Mr. Tanaka and Mr. Smith are taking about a vase Mr. Tanaka received from Mr. Clark.

 

Sumisu:

Kireina kabin desu ne.

Tanaka:

Ee, tanjōbi ni tomodachi no Kurāku-san ni moraimashita.

Sumisu:

Ii iro desu ne.

Tanaka:

Ee, watashi no sukina iro desu.

 

Tanaka-san wa Kurāku-san ni kabin o maraimashita. Kurāku-san wa Tanaka-san ni kabin o agemashita.

 

Translation

 

Smith:

What a lovely vase!

Tanaka:

Yes. My friend Mr. Clark gave it to me on my birthday.

Smith:

It’s a nice colour, isn’t it?

Tanaka:

Yes, it’s a favourite colour of mine.

 

Mr. Tanaka received a vase from Mr. Clark. Mr. Clark gave Mr. Tanaka a vase.

 

Vocabulary

 

kabin

ni

moraimasu

iro

sukina

ni

agemasu

vase

from (particle)

receive

colour

likeable, favourite (-na adj)

to (particle)

give

 

GRAMMAR

 

Sentence structure: … NI … O verb

1.                    person WA person NI noun O AGEMASU

2.                    person WA person NI noun O MORAIMASU

 

AGEMASU/KUREMASU means give, MORAIMASU means receive.

There are two words in Japanese meaning “give”, and great care must be taken in their correct use. AGEMASU literally mean “to raise up” implies “to humbly present” and can never be used when speaking of something that someone gives you. KUREMAU on the other hand literally means “to hand down” and must only be used in connection with things given to you.

 

KUREMASU is seldom used as MORAIMASU is more frequently used. KARA is often used with MORAIMASU instead of NI.

 

AGEMASU is also used freely when the speaker is not involved in the giving.

 

NOTES

 

1.                    In TOMODACHI NO KURĀKU-SAN, NO is not possessive. It is the appositive, “my friend, Mr. Clark.”

 

 

USEFUL VOCABULARY

 

ni

ni

 

agemasu

moraimasu

 

ane

chichi

kanai

 

hiragana

iro

jisho

kabin

kanji

nekutai

rekishi

 

sukina

from (particle)

to (particle)

 

give

receive

 

(my) elder sister

(my) father

(my) wife

 

hiragana (Japanese script)

colour

dictionary

vase

kanji (Chinese characters)

necktie

history

 

likable, favourite (-na adj)

 

 

KEY SENTENCES

 

1.                    Hayashi-san wa Sumisu-san ni hon o agemashita. “Mr. Hayashi gave Mr. Smith a book.”

2.                    Sumisu-san wa Hayashi-san ni hon o moraimashita. “Mr. Smith received a book from Mr. Hayashi.”

 

SHORT DIALOGUES

 

Japanese Dialogue 1

 

Hayashi:

Ii nekutai desu ne.

Kurāku:

Dōmo arigatō. Kinō kanai ni moraimashita. Kinō wa watashi no tanjōbi deshita.

 

Translation

 

Hayashi:

What a nice necktie.

Clark:

Thank you. I received it from my wife yesterday. Yesterday was my birthday.

 

Japanese Dialogue 2

 

Sumisu:

Watashi wa Amerika de Nihon-go no benkyō o shimashita.

Tanaka:

Hiragana ya kanji no benkyō mo shimashita ka.

Sumisu:

Hai, shimashita. Kanji wa totemo omoshiroi desu. Watashi wa yoku Nihon-go no hon o yomimasu. Nihon-go no sensei ni kono hon o moraimashita. Totemo omoshiroi hon desu.

 

Translation

 

Smith:

I studied Japanese in America.

Tanaka:

Did you study hiragana, kanji (and so on) too?

Smith:

Yes I did. Kanji is fascinating. I often read books in Japanese. I was given this book by my Japanese teacher. It’s a very entertaining book.