02 - Thai Food & Beer in Yokohama

We talk a lot about our studies, our jobs, whatever.

But let's be honest--what we're really thinking about... is FOOD!

Mankind's greatest pastime.

You may or may not know that last year Rei and I lived in Thailand for about 4 months:


(Me chilling with Thai Ronald McDonald)

During that time, we developed a serious addiction to Thai food.

As a result, we now do things like what happened last night:

Taking the train 30 minutes to Yokohama just to get down on some legit タイ料理 (tai ryouri), "Thai Food:"


(Rei with her soup we bought to take home with us... (don't tell her I sent this photo; I'll probably get in trouble)).

By the way, you can attach 料理 (ryouri), "cooking," to the names of a number of countries in order to say that country's cuisine:

韓国 (kankoku) is "Korea."
So 韓国料理 (kankoku ryouri) is "Korean food."

フランス (furansu) is "France."
So フランス料理 (furansu ryouri) is "French food."

イタリア (itaria) is "Italy."
So イタリア料理 (itaria ryouri) is "Italian food."

There are a couple of exceptions, though.

中国 (chuugoku) is "China," but "Chinese food" is 中華料理 (chuuka ryouri).

日本 (nihon) is "Japan," but "(traditional) Japanese food" is 和食 (washoku) (Literally, "harmonious food").

So we're at this janky little Thai restaurant in 日ノ出町 (hi no de chou), "Sunrise Town" (which is actually just the name of this station):


(that shiny store on the right)

The shop is called J's Store:



That sign says 24時間営業 (nijuuyo jikan eigyou), "Open 24 Hours."

Note that "24" is にじゅうよん (ni juu yon) (literally, "2" "10" "4"), but that final ん (n) is getting chopped off when saying "24 Hours," 24時間 = にじゅうよじかん = ni juu yo jikan.

I don't know when I even learned that... but apparently I did. And I'm pretty sure that "n" will always get dropped.

営業 (eigyou), by the way, is a really interesting word in Japanese.

営 means something like "occupation," or "business."

業 means something like "profession," or "industry."

Put them together, and we get a word that can mean anything from "business" to "sales" to "(hours of) operation."

For a business that's not 24 hours, you might see a sign outside that says 営業中 (eigyouchuu), literally, "in the middle of business," but translated to "open" in English. In other words, it's OK for you, Customer-san, to enter:



The opposite of this is 準備中 (junbichuu), which means "in the middle of preparing (to open)," which I guess we can just say means "Closed" in English.

営業 (eigyou) can also be used to refer to someone's job.

It's weird, because the word kind of means "business," but it also kind of means "sales." So...

営業の仕事 (eigyou no shigoto) is "a sales job."

And by adding the katakana for "man," -マン onto the end, we get 営業マン (eigyou man), a "salesman."

And...

Uh...

Oops...

The entire reason I wanted to talk about this Thai restaurant was a conversation I had with one of the Thai ladies working there (in Japanese).

But we'll just have to save it for tomorrow, because this is getting too long.


Bonus Phrases:

タイ料理食べたい。
たいりょうり たべたい。
I want to eat Thai food.
Literally: Thai cooking + want to eat

料理得意?
りょうり とくい?
Are you good at cooking?
Literally: cooking + skilled?

来週韓国行くんだ。
らいしゅう かんこく いく んだ。
I'm going to Korea next week.
Literally: next week + Korea + go + んだ

韓国料理大好き。
かんこくりょうり だいすき。
I love Korean food.
Literally: Korean cooking + liking a lot / loving

フランス行ってみたい。
フランス いって みたい。
I'd like to go to France.
Literally: France + go and + want to see

フランス料理苦手。
フランスりょうり にがて。
I don't really like French food. // I'm not good at making French food.
Literally: French cooking + not skilled

イタリアってどこ?
イタリア って どこ?
Where's Italy, exactly?
Literally: Italy + って + where?
Note: I thought that translating this as just "Where's Italy?" sounds a little too extreme. Like, the speaker knows some things about Italy... but they probably can't point it out on an unlabeled map.

イタリア料理おいしいよね。
イタリアりょうり おいしい よね。
Italian food is good, huh?
Literally: Italian cooking + delicious + よね

中国から来ました。
ちゅうごく から きました。
I'm from China.
Literally: China + from + came

おいしい中華料理屋知ってる?
おいしい ちゅうかりょうりや しってる?
Do you know any good Chinese restaurants?
Literally: delicious + Chinese cooking shop + are knowing?

日本が恋しい。
にほん が こいしい。
I miss Japan.
Literally: Japan + が + missed / wanted / longed for

朝はいつも和食。
あさ は いつも わしょく。
I always have Japanese food for breakfast.
Literally: morning + は + always + Japanese food

日ノ出町駅の近くに住んでる。
ひのでちょう えき の ちかく に すんでる。
I live near Hinodecho Station.
Literally: Hinodecho Station + の + near + に + am living

この店24時間営業だって。
この みせ にじゅうよじかん えいぎょう だって。
It says this restaurant is open 24 hours.
Literally: this + shop + 24 hours + doing business + is + って
Note: The speaker probably saw a sign or a poster that says this. Also, though the word 店 means "shop," it sounds like the speaker is probably talking about a restaurant or izakaya.

まだ準備中だ。
まだ じゅんび ちゅう だ。
It's not open yet.
Literally: still + preparing + is
Note: For example, if you and a friend went to a certain restaurant, but it doesn't open for another 20 minutes.

営業の仕事をしてます。
えいぎょう の しごと を して ます。
I work in sales.
Literally: sale / business + の + job / work + を + am doing

営業マンです。
えいぎょう マン です。
I'm a salesperson.
Literally: salesman + am

Complete and Continue