8/17/2019 nihongo dialogue

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Futokoro ga samui

Gen: Kotoshi no fuyu wa samui ne.

Mai: Chikyu- wa atsuku narutte hanashi da kedo. Ima goro

ga ichiban samui no yo ne.

Gen: So- da na, mi o kiru yo- na samusa da ne.*

Mai: Un. Gen kun no futokoro mo samuin desho-?

Gen: Ma- na.

Mai: Kawai so-! Ja atatakai udon ogotte ageru.

Gen: Sankyu- !

Out of money

Gen: This winter is cold, isn’t it?

Mai: They say the Earth is getting warmer, but this is

the coldest time of the year.

Gen: That’s right, it’s biting cold.

Mai: Yes. Gen, your wallet is empty, too, isn’t it?

Gen: Well, yes.

Mai: Poor you. I’ll treat you to some hot udon noodles.

Gen: Thank you!

 J   A P A N E S E F O R L A Z Y P E O P L EBy Setsuko Matsumoto and Craig Dibble

Special to The Daily Yomiuri

The secret for lazy people to learn Japanese is to take

words they already know and use them in new situations.

This year it has been very「寒い」, samui, cold. The tem-

perature has been really「低い」, hikui, low, in many parts

of Japan. Let’s look today at the many uses of 「寒い」,

samui, and「低い」, hikui.

Sesuji ga samuku naru

Gen: Saikin iyana nyu-su ga o- i ne.

Mai: So- ne. Satsujin, tero, bo-do-.

Gen: Seifu ga kokumin o koroshi tsuzuketeru kuni mo aru.

Mai: Sore o dare mo tomerarenaindatte.

Gen: Sesuji ga samuku naru yo.

Chills down my spineGen: There is a lot of bad news these days.

Mai: That’s right. Murders, terrorism, riots.

Gen: There are some countries where the government

continues to kill its people.

Mai: They say no one can stop it.

Gen: It sends chills down my spine.

Koshi ga

Mai: Erai hito ni wa koshi no hikno shacho- wa chigau yo

Gen: Zenzen koshi hikuku nai.

Mai: Demo jo-dan itte omoshiro

ikura kana” tte.

Gen: Samui!

Being m

Mai: They say there are many

tinguished people, but o

them!

Gen: He’s not modest at all. H

Mai: But he’s funny when he

day he punned, “Ikura ware the fish roe)”?

Gen: That’s painful!

EXAMPLE 1

Orinpi

Mai: Kotoshi wa Rondon Orin

Gen: Un. Nihon jin no kanshin

Mai: Katsu to ii ne. Sekai ni w

ga o- i kara, Sekai-ju- no

hoshii!!

Gen: Chotto, chotto, atsuku na

The Oly

Mai: The London Olympics is

Gen: Yes. Japanese people’s

women’s soccer team, is

Mai: It would be great if they

tries in the world where

want them to put up a g

in the world.

Gen: Hey, hey, you’re getting

EXAMPLE 4

O-samui kaikaku

Mai: Fukeiki da na. “Mi o kiru kaikaku” tte do- natta no?*

Gen: O-samui kaikaku da yo. Nakanaka susuma nai.

Mai: Honto- yo. Kyu-ryo- heru shi, bo-nasu wa nai shi, kabu

wa sagaru shi... Kaikaku deki nakereba seijika waseppuku shite hoshii.

Gen: Oi oi! Tenshon hikuku shite kure yo.

Pitiful reform

Mai: The economy is slow. What happened to that

“self-sacrificing” reform?

Gen: It’s pitiful reform. It’s not going anywhere.

Mai: True. Salaries are slashed, there’re no bonuses,stock prices are going down...if they can’t achieve

the reform, then I want politicians to commit rit-

ual suicide.

Gen: Hey, hey! Calm down.

EXAMPLE 5

EXAMPLE 4

EXAMPLE 2

The next installment w

寒い, samui cold, chilly   冬は寒い  fuyu wa samui winter is coldchilling (fear)   背筋が寒くなる sesuji ga samukunaru get a chill down one’s spine

sparse   懐が寒い  futokoro ga samui have little money (Lit: chest pock-

et, where the wallet is kept, is cold

meager   お寒い改革 o-samui kaikaku insufficient reform

poor   寒いギャグ samui gyagu a poor joke

低い, hikui low   温度が低い ondo ga hikui low in temperatureカロリーが低い karorii ga hikui low in calories

腰が低い koshi ga hikui to be modest (low in posture)背が低い se ga hikui to be short (low in height)

地位が低い chii ga hikui low in status or post

関心が低い kanshin ga hikui to have little interest in something

*mi o kiru samusa: biting coldness

*mi o kiru kaikaku: Reform that reduces the number of politicians, bureaucrats and other public personnel. (Lit: reform

that cuts one’s own body.)