270 - Flying Witch, Part II

Let's break down the language we saw in the last lesson.

First, watch the video for a quick review:


↑ Video Link ↑

OK. Let's go.

Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go.


次、止まります。
つぎ、 とまります。
Next stop requested.
Literally: "next + (will) stop."

If you watch the video, you can hear a beeping sound just before the bus driver says this. That's the sound the bus is making when Makoto presses the button letting the driver know that she'd like to get off at the next stop.

Usually the button will say とまります on it, so be sure to press it if you want off:



チトさん、見てください!
チトさん、 みて ください!
Chito-san, take a look!
Literally: "Chito-san, + look + please!"

Something that you'll notice about all of Makoto's language: It's very polite.

She is even using polite language when speaking to her cat by adding the suffix ~さん to her name and adding ~ください after her te-form verb request (=見て // Look!).


四月なのにこんなに残ってますよ、雪!
しがつ なのに こんなに のこってます よ、 ゆき!
It's April, but there's still so much snow!
Literally: "April + なのに (=although) + this much + is remaining, + snow!"
Note: のに means although, but when it comes after a noun, we need to add な, giving us なのに.

We also look at のに in these lessons:
- [NDL #177] - Sleepy Japanese
- [NDL #255] - Honey! (Part 2)

Also, we see a different usage of のに in this lesson:
- [NDL #162] - Cards against humanity in Japanese?

See how she adds the noun 雪 (ゆき // snow) at the end of her sentence, almost as an afterthought, even though it is the "subject" of the sentence (in the English sense)?

This happens all the time in Japanese. I think it's because Japanese people are so accustomed to leaving out subjects of sentences that sometimes they'll do it when they probably shouldn't have, then add it at the end to clarify what they were talking about.

I do this all the time in Japanese now, too. I'm probably messing it up or something, though.


冷たい!
つめたい!
So cold!
Literally: "cold!"

This is a great image for helping you remember the difference between 冷たい (つめたい // cold) and 寒い (さむい // cold).

Use 寒い when talking about the (cold) temperature of the air.

Then use 冷たい for the temperature of everything else--that is, of things you can touch. Like how she's touching the snow!


これ食べても大丈夫かな
これ たべても だいじょうぶ かな
I wonder if it's safe to eat.
Literally: "this + even if eat + OK + かな."

This かな shows that she is thinking out loud to herself, yeah? We saw the slightly stronger version in this lesson: [NDL #54] - I think I'll... go to sleep.

Also, note how she puts no particle between これ and 食べても.

This is really useful for us, because technically は or を could go between these two words, and deciding which is appropriate can be tricky. So just leave it out! ^_^

If I had to choose a particle for this particular situation, it'd be を, because the snow is already the topic of our (one-person) conversation--she just mentioned that it was cold. So saying は would be redundant. But let's not debate about particle usage. It makes everyone depressed.


マコト?
Makoto?


やっぱマコトだ。
やっぱ マコト だ。
I knew it was you.
Literally: "as I thought + Makoto + だ."
Note: やっぱ is a casual shortening of やっぱり, which is the casual version of the more formal やはり. They all mean the same thing, technically, but they have different nuances.

In stark contrast to Makoto, we'll see that Kei-kun's language is extremely casual. He doesn't say anything offensive, but he does use bare-bones casual phrasing in pretty much every sentence, starting with this one.


久しぶりー
ひさしぶりー
Long time no see.


もしかしてケイくんですか?
もしかして ケイくん ですか?
Could you be Kei-kun?
Literally: "perhaps [could it be] + Kei-kun + ですか?"
Note: もしかして usually comes at the beginning of a sentence.


大きくなったから誰か分かりませんでしたよ!
おおきく なった から だれか わかりませんでした よ!
You've gotten so tall that I couldn't tell.
Literally: "big + became + because + who + か + did not know [understand] + よ!"

Ignoring the first half of the sentence, let's just look at:

誰か分かりませんでしたよ!
だれ か わかりませんでした よ!
I couldn't tell who it was.
Literally: "who + か + did not know [understand] + よ!"

You'll sound like a total beginner if you don't remember to put this か between your question word and your verb. Figuring out why that is the case can be a bit tricky, though. Consider this...

You see me talking on the phone, laughing like crazy. A few minutes later, when I hang up, you can ask:

誰?
だれ?
Who was that?

Later, you could explain this story to someone and say:

知りたかった。
だれ か しりたかった。
I wanted to know who it was.
Literally: "who + か + wanted to know."

This would be the same thing as saying:

なのか知りたかった。
だれ なのか しりたかった。
I wanted to know who it was.
Literally: "who + なのか + wanted to know."

In fact, Makoto could have said:

なのか分かりませんでしたよ!
だれ なのか わかりませんでした よ!
I couldn't tell who it was.
Literally: "who + なのか + did not know [understand] + よ!"

Note that this is different than the 誰か (だれか) which means "somebody:"

誰かが俺のランチ盗んだ!
だれか が おれ の ランチ ぬすんだ!
Somebody stole my lunch!
Literally: "somebody + が + I + の + lunch + stole!"


ああ…
Right...
Literally: "Yeah..."


で、なんで雪持ってんの?
で、 なんで ゆき もってんの?
So, why did you grab that snow?
Literally: "で、 + why + snow + are holding の?"
Note: 持ってんの? is a more casual form of 持っているの?

See how he starts his sentence with で?

You should try to do that too, especially the next time you want to start a sentence with そして or それで, which is something that non-native speakers tend to do too often.


これは…
これ は...
Because...
Literally: "this + は..."


なんでもないです
なんでも ない です
No real reason, I guess.
Literally: "(it's) nothing + です."

Remember that:

なんでもない=it's nothing
なにもない=there is nothing


よぉ〜チト
よぉ~ チト
Hey, Chito!
Literally: "Hey + Chito"


元気してたか?
げんき してた か?
Have you been well?
Literally: "well [lively; healthy] + were doing + か?"

He also could have said 元気だった? and the meaning would be pretty much identical.

It can be difficult to use sentences like these well, partly because we say them more often in English than in Japanese.

Slightly off-topic but also relevant is this extremely important lesson: [NDL #40] - How was your day today?


お前もデカくなったな
おまえ も デカく なった な
You've sure gotten big.
Literally: "you + も + huge + became + な"


迎えに来てくれたんですか?
むかえに きて くれた ん ですか?
Did you come to pick me up?
Literally: "meeting / greeting + に + came (and) + gave (me) + んですか?"

Hey, remember the following sentence from Lesson #69?

今から友達迎えに行く。
いま から ともだち むかえ に いく。
I'm just about to go meet my friend (at the airport). // I'm just about to go pick up my friend (at the airport).
Literally: "now + from + friend + go to meet."
Note: 迎えに行く (むかえにいく) is quite common, so you might want to remember it as a set. It's used any time you go to meet someone who is arriving from somewhere. For instance, meeting someone at the airport when they come visit you in Tokyo. Also, if you're writing or speaking formally, the person you're picking up will be marked by the particle を. So that would be 友達を迎えに行く. You can also say it if you go to someone's house to meet them.

行く (いく) or 来る (くる), they both work, depending on if we're the person getting picked up or not.


ああ、マコト方向音痴だったろ?
ああ、 マコト ほうこうおんち だったろ?
Yeah, I know you can hardly tell left from right.
Literally: "Yeah, + Makoto + (person with) no sense of direction + were, right?"
Note: だったろ?=だっただろ? As you may have guessed, the shorter version is more casual. See Lesson #86 for more.

I love the word 方向音痴!!

方向 (ほうこう // direction; orientation)
音痴 (おんち // tone-deaf; having no sense of something)
方向音痴 (ほうこうおんち // [a person with] no sense of direction)



Wow, that's already a ton of info. But the most complicated sentences are still coming up, so let's go over them in the next lesson.

Just. One. More. You got this.

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