2.7 Politely Asking for Permission Language & Culture Lessons Minasan o genki desu Great to see you again!!!! Have you been listening to your audio lessons? You may be very excited about your progress and may be in the mood to move on to next lessons as soon as you can! That's great. But please remember it's always good to go back and listen to the previous lessons, too. Last lesson we went over asking for directions and how long it takes to your destination. We studied minutes and hours. We also learned a bit about Japanese public transportation. How long does it take to your work? To your nearest supermarket? To your children's schools? I hope you are able to answer in Japanese! Today, I would like to provide supplementary explanation on Lesson 2.2 of the Rocket Japanese Interactive Audio Course, the Perfect Tourist. We'll learn how to ask for permission. We will also learn to politely ask someone to do something. And we will be introducing you to the strange world of Japanese counting! Sounds interesting? Let's start, then! Sore dewa, hajimasho! Language Lesson Asking for permission When you are traveling, there will be occasions that you need to ask for permission. For example, you may be in some kind of a museum and are not sure if you are allowed to take a photo. しゃしんをとってもいいですか? Shashin o totte mo ii desu May I take a photo? Let s break down that sentence. いいですか? Ii desu Is it all right? The word ii means good or all right. So with ii desu ka, you are asking if it s all right. If anything, please remember this expression. Even if you forgot all the other parts of this sentence, you can point at the camera you re holding and say ii desu ka, then anyone will understand what you mean. しゃしんをとる Shashin o toru To take a photo Shashin o totte mo ii desu You changed toru to totte. What form of a verb do you think totte is? If you said te form, then you guessed right! Sugoi desu ne! As to HOW to get the te form, we will not get into that today because it involves slightly complicated conjugation. Instead, we will go over some other situations where you may have to ask for permission. 1) May I smoke? 2) May I open the window? 3) May I close the window? 4) May I use the toilet? 5) May I borrow the phone? 1) tabako o suu タバコをすってもいいですか? 2) mado o akeru までをあけてもいいですか? Tabako o sutte mo ii desu Mado o akete mo ii desu
3) mado o shimeru まどをしめてもいいですか? 4) toire o tsukau トイレをつかってもいいですか? 5) denwa o kariru でんわをかりてもいいですか? Mado o shimete mo ii desu Toire o tsukatte mo ii desu Denwa o karite mo ii desu Great! Now you can be a polite tourist asking for permission before smoking. Asking someone to do something for you しゃしんをとってもいいですか? Shashin o totte mo ii desu しゃしんをとってもらってもいいですか? Shashin o totte moratte mo ii desu May I take a photo? Could you take a photo for me? Please compare the two sentences above. The first one is asking for permission to take a photo. The second one is asking someone to take a photo for you. The only difference between the two is the word moratte. Moratte means receiving. In this case, you are receiving a favor. Can you ask someone: 1) to open the window for you? 2) to close the window for you? 3) to speak slowly? 4) to speak in English? 5) to write in rōmaji? 1) mado o akeru まどをあけてもらってもいい ですか? 2) mado o shimeru まどをしめてもらってもいいですか? ado o akete moratte mo ii desu Mado o shimete moratte mo ii desu 3) yukkuri hanasu ゆっくりはなしってもらってもい Yukkuri hanashite moratte mo ii desu いですか? 4) ēgo de hanasu 5) rōmaji r de kaku えいごではなしてもらってもいいですか? ローマじでかいてもらってもいいですか? Ēgo de hanashite moratte mo ii desu Rōmaji de kaite moratte mo ii desu Here, there, and over there! Koko de shashin o totte mo ii desu May I take a photo here? ここ koko そこ soko あそこ asoko どこ here there over there where
doko These words are called ko so a do words in Japanese, taking the first syllable of each word. When the speaker is pointing at a place near the speaker, they will use koko. When the speaker is pointing at a place near the listener, they will use soko. When the speaker is pointing at a place far from both of them, they will use asoko. これ kore それ sore あれ are どれ dore this that that over there which Similarly, when the speaker is pointing at an object near the speaker, they will use kore. When the speaker is pointing at an object near the listener, they will use sore. When the speaker is pointing at an object far from both of them, they will use are. Pretty much similar to English. Can you use the right word in each situation below? Counting Counting in Japanese is not as simple as it sounds. I know you have learned numbers already. But they are just numbers. You use them for phone numbers, page numbers, addresses, money, and so on. But when you are actually COUNTING things, like one apple, two apples, and so on, a concept of a counter gets involved. A counter is a suffix you put after a number when you are counting things. You already know some counters like minutes (fun), hours (jikan), and months (ka getsu). What makes Japanese counting very confusing is..when you count objects, you use different counters depending on the shape of the object! For example, you use certain counter for counting long slender objects like pencils, belts, and bottles. You use another counter for counting thin flat objects like paper, stamps, and plates. And there are many many many counters!
But we won t get into that today. I will, instead, give you the general counters we use for many things as well as when we are not sure which counter to use! Yes, that s right. Even a native speaker is sometimes not sure which counter to use. ひとつ hitotsu ふたつ futatsu みっつ mittsu よっつ yottsu いつつ itsutsu むっつ muttsu ななつ nanatsu やっつ yattsu ここのつ kokonotsu とう tō one (item) two (items) three (items) four (items) five (items) six (items) seven (items) eight (items) nine (items) ten (items) Do you remember how to order a coffee? コーヒーをくたさい Kōhī o kudasai Please give me coffee Now we can order two cups of coffee! But please note where you put the counter. コーヒーをふたつください コーヒーを つください Kōhī o futatsu kudasai. Please give me two cups of coffee. That s right. We don t put the quantity before the word Kōhī as you would in English. Can you ask for the following things in the following quantity? 1) three apples
2) four cups of tea 3) five glasses of wine 4) three beers りんごをみっつください りんごを三つください Ringo o mittsu kudasai. こうちゃ をよっつください こうちゃ を四つください Kōcha o yottsu kudasai. ワインをいつつください ワインを五つください Wain o itsutsu kudasai. ビールをみっつください ビールを三つください Bīru o mittsu kudasai. Please give me three apples. Please give me four cups of tea. Please give me five glasses of wine. Please give me three beers. Yoku dekimashita! Well done! Now you don t have to go thirsty when you want those three cans of beer!!! Culture 1) Shoes In Lesson 2.2 of the Rocket Japanese Interactive Audio Course, the Perfect Tourist, Kenny mentioned the toilet slippers! To tell you the truth, I have forgotten to get out of those toilet slippers once or twice myself Some of you may already know but in Japan, we NEVER go inside a home with our shoes on. It is possibly the rudest thing you can do to go into someone's home with your shoes on. When you move homes, you may hire removal people. Or when you buy a new bed, you may get it delivered to your home. Those people will also take their shoes off before they go inside. I have heard that some burglars also take their shoes off!!!! We love slipon shoes for that purpose! I have a pair of lace up boots. I bought them in Japan so they have fasteners so that I don't have to undo the laces every time I go into someone's home! You may think "If I have to take them off all the time, I won't bother to wear them in the first place!" Well, the Japanese will not do that either! And if you walk outside without shoes on, then your feet must be cleaned before going inside. When you enter someone's house, you will often be offered indoor slippers. Those are expected to be worn on the linoleum or wooden floors. When you walk into a traditional Japanese room with tatami mat floor, you're expected to take those slippers off. So you have slippers you wear in some parts of the house and slippers you wear only inside the bathroom see it does get confusing sometimes. My advice to you. If you've been invited to a Japanese home, it may pay to check that you don't have holes in your socks!!! 2) Toilet Kenny also mentioned the fun you can have with the toilet in Japan. Some hotels have a very fancy toilet with many controls. I suggest that you try and have fun! Many people become a fan of those toilets! While many modern homes are now equipped with a Western style toilet, public bathrooms will often have both the Western style toilets and Japanese style toilets. Here's an example of a traditional Japanese style toilet.
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