LESSON 21

TODAY'S TOPIC: Wakatta
" I understood"

Welcome back to Reiko-chan's JAL sixth week! Genki? I hope you are enjoying my lessons.
Sa~, ganbatte iko~! Today, we will learn the usage of a verb wakaru. This word means "understand" "see" "get" "grasp" etc. As who understands is usually known in the context, subjects are omitted most of the time in the exmaples below. Now please listen to Hikaru and practice saying its past tense, wakatta.

hkr21-1.wav 14KB
Wakatta.
I got it.
Wakatta is a past tense of wakaru (dictionary from). I understood, I got it, I see, etc. are expressed just by saying wakatta. It's easy, right? Listen once again, but this time, Ascot and practice, please.

asct21-1.wav 31KB
Wakatta!
I see!

How about next one? I am sure you understand this,,,
fro21-1.wav 42KB
Yoshi, wakatta!!
All right, I got it!
Yoshi is derived by conjugating an i-adjective yoi, which I explained last week ^_^.

umi21-1.wav 43KB
Wakatta wa yo.
I understand.
You can put ending particles like Umi does. Just saying wakatta wa is mochiron (of course) OK, too. If you are a man, just omit wa and say wakatta yo. Also, you could say wakatta zo or wakatta ze (both sound masculine).

Now, let's try its plain non-past form (i.e. dictionary form)

hkr21-2.wav 26K
Wakaru
I see (now) ,,,
Like its past tense wakatta, non-past plain form wakaru can be used just as it is.

umi21-2.wav 34KB
Wakaru wa.
I see.
You can add ending particles as usual like this.

clef21-1.wav 23KB
Wakaru ka?
Do you understand?
If you add a particle ka (the question maker), you can make it a question.

All right, let's try following conversation.

hkr21-3.wav 128KB
Hikaru: Umi-chan do~shita no?
Umi-chan, what is the matter with you?
Umi: Wakara nai,,,
I don't know,,,
As we already know, do~shita no means "what is the matter with you?" (see my previous lesson) Here, Hikaru thought something was wrong with Umi and asked this question. Umi, then, answered wakara nai meaning that even she didn't know what was wrong with her. Nai as in kawaiku nai (see 5th week's lesson) functions like "not" in English (though put after a verb). Notice the ending vowel changed to "a" from "u" here. This is how Japanese verbs conjugate, yuck!

umi21-4.wav 58KB
Hikaru! Wakara nai no?
Hikaru! Don't you understand?
Using the same sentence structure as above and just change the intonation, voila! you get an interrogative sentence. Notice the intonation rose at the end here. If you add "ka" or "no ka," your speech becomes a question regardless of the intonation.

umi21-5.wav 59KB
Anata ni wa wakara nai no yo.
You don't understand.
This might be a little bit difficult, but I think you catch the words. Don't worry about a particle "ni" here, it just emphasizes anata ( = you).

fuu21-1.wav 39KB
Wakari mashita.
I understood.

If you are a polite person like Fu, say like this. This verb belongs to a group of verbs called "u-verb." (end with "u" sound) When this kind of verbs conjugate, ending sound "u" is changed to other vowel, i.e. "a" "i" "e" and "o." In this case, "u" changed to "i." Mashita is the past tense of masu, which is used after a verb other than be-verb, desu (or da, datta etc.) in formal speech. (never say desu masu, or da masu, etc., OK?) When you use any variation of masu (such as mashita, masen deshita, etc.), ending sound of u-verb is always "i."
Note: For people who love grammar. Wakaru is the dictionary (meaning it is listed in a dictionary) or plain form (used in informal situation). This is so called u-verb (other verbs being ru-verbs and three irregular verbs) and its conjugation pattern is as follows. (an u-verb ends with "u" sound and a ru-verb ends with "ru" sound, but like wakaru is an u-verb, there are some u-verbs which have consonant "r" before "u.")

Plain
Non-past: Wakaru (I understand)
Negative: Wakara nai (I don't understand)
Past: Wakatta (I understood)
Past negative: Wakara na katta (I didn't understand)

Polite (notice that ending vowel is always "i")
Non-past: Wakari masu (I understand)
Negative: Wakari masen (I don't understand)
Past: Wakari mashita (I understood)
Past negative: Wakari masen deshita (I didn't understand)

Please don't worry about grammar yet. I want you to know just the usage right now. I will explain those grammatical rules after you learn more verbs, then, you will understand the conjugation patterns easily. This is just a first step to learn Japanese verbs.

rei21-1.wav 137KB
Wakari mashita ka? Ja, mata ashita!
Do you understand (today's lesson)? Well, then, see you tomorrow again.

Go back to Top of the Lesson

Go back to JAL Title Page

LESSON 22

TODAY'S TOPIC: Nani, kore!
" What's this?!"

Today, we will learn about nani or nan, which means "what" in English. Nani and nan both mean "what." The proper use of nani is somewhat difficult to explain, but in this lesson, just remember that we usually use nan when Japanese be-verb desu (or its conjugated form such as da, datta, deshita, and so on) is put after it. Anyway, let's listen to Umi and see how it sounds like.

ui22-1.wav 44KB
Nani kore?
What (is) this?
Nani is "what," right? Kore is "this" in English. As always, be-verb tends to be omitted (or plain form da is used instead of desu) in informal conversation, just saying "what this" is perfectly correct way of saying "what is this?" in Japanese.

umi22-2.wav 131KB
Nani yo! Kore!
What (the hell is) this?
If you are really surprised to see something unusual and want to know what it is, say like this. As you know, yo is used for emphasis purpose. In a normal situation (i.e. when you are not very shocked) Umi could say Kore wa nani yo?, but in this case, since she was so surprised that she said nani part first and then added kore part later. It happens quite often in Japanese because we don't care about word order and just say important words first because we have PARTICLES that indicate the functions of words in sentences.

Now, let's try nan, which is usually used when you use a be-verb in your speech.

hkr22-1.wav 24KB
Nan da?
What is (it)?
Notice she said nan instead of nani, here. Da, as you remember, is a plain form of desu. This can be said by both sexes.

fro22-1.wav 26KB
Nan da?

hkr22-2.wav 66KB
Nan da, kono nioi?
What is this smell?
Nioi means "smell" "scent" etc. Notice kore changed to kono. In English, the word "this" doesn't change whether in "what is this" or "what is this smell" but in Japanese, when "this" modifies a noun, kore changes to kono. In similar fashion, are (not an English be-verb, but it means "that") changes to ano as in "ano kata" (that person). Also, there is sore in Japanese. Sore means "that" in English. But it implies something closer than are (or close to the listener). Therefore:

Kore (this) Kono hito (this person)
Sore (that) Sono hito (that person)
Are (that thing over there) Ano hito (that person over there)

fro22-2.wav 75KB
Nan da, kono chikara wa!?
What is this power? ( = what a strong power this is! or what kind of power is this?!)
Chikara, as you may remember, means "power." Nan da is as same as above. The difference is that wa is added here. If you do this, you put more emphasis to your speech rather than saying "nan da kono chikara" but the meaning doesn't change so much. In this context, Ferio encountered a sugoi chikara emitted from a huge rock. Though he said literally "what is this power?" he meant "what a tremendous power this is!" or "what kind of power is this?" Now try this.

hkr22-3.wav 39KB
Nan datte?
What did you say?
Here, datte is used instead of da. By adding "te" sound after da, you sound more like "what did you say? I can't believe my ears. Did I understand correctly what you said?" and so on.

umi22-3.wav 40KB
Nan desutte?
What did you say?
In this case, (adding "te" after desu) you sound a little bit politer.

Omake

alco22-1.wav 75KB
Ohisashiburi desu, do~shi Kurefu.
Long time, no see, Master Clef.
This is a phrase you can say to someone whom you haven't seen for a while. O is the honorific word, hisashiburi means "it has been a long time since." Alcyone added desu to be polite to her former teacher Clef. Therefore, in an informal situation such as between friends, you can say just hisashiburi!

How did you do today? Yokatta? (was the lesson good?) Yokatta. (Glad to hear that!) Ja, mata ashita.

Go back to Top of the Lesson

Go back to JAL Title Page

LESSON 23

TODAY'S TOPIC: Jo~dan ja nai!
" No kidding!"

Jo~dan means "joke" or "gag." In RayEarth, Umi often says jo~dan ja nai! meaning "No kidding" "you cannot be serious" "don't talk nonsense" etc.

Now, let's listen to Umi.

umi23-1.wav 54KB
Jo~dan ja nai wa!
No kidding!
It literally means "(it) is not (a) joke." Nai, as you may remember, functions like "not" or "no" in English. Ja (this ja is different from "well then" in its meaning) should be put between a noun and nai when you make negative sentence for this type of sentence (A is not B).
Note: This ja consists of two words "de" and "wa" (be-verb and a particle), but ja is easier to pronounce than de wa. In a formal situation, you can say Jo~dan de wa nai desu and so on, but Jo~dan ja nai desu is quite all right.

rei23-1.wav 41KB
Jo~dan!
You should be kidding! (You cannot be serious!)
You can just say jo~dan to mean "you are kidding, aren't you" "It was a joke (I was kidding)" "It cannot be true" and so on depending on the context and how you say it. So if you are having difficulty with the grammar, just remember one word jo~dan and practice saying it in various ways.

umi23-2.wav 46KB
Jo~dan ja nai wa yo!
It's no joke!
You can put additional ending particle as usual.

Now, try next one. I think you understand this variation.

umi23-3.wav 41KB
Jo~dan wa yamete yo!
Stop your kidding!
Do you remember yamete? Goooood! It means "please stop" right? This phrase can be directly translated as "As for your joking, please stop!" thus "Stop your kidding." Wakari masu ka?

Now let's try another variation. Listen carefully and repeat after her, please.

umi23-4.wav 44KB
Jo~dan iwa nai de!
Don't talk nonsense!
Iwa nai part consists of two words, a verb iu (= to say) and nai (= not). The ending de is like te in yamete (just voiced). Therefore, iwa nai de means "don't say." Here you didn't hear wa as in previous one, right? Yes, it is optional, you can omit particle wa.
Note: You can say, Jo~dan wo iwa nai de instead of jo~dan wa iwa nai de. Wo is a particle put after a direct object of the sentence. In that case, the direct translation will be "don't say joke." In both ways, the meaning is the same, though.

Next, let's learn one more word, uso. It can be used in similar situations like you use jo~dan.

umi23-5.wav 143KB
Uso, uso, uso yo!
(It's) a lie, lie, lie!
Uso literally means "lie" "falsehood" "untruth" "fake" and so on. When you say uso!, it means "I don't believe it" "it's unbelievable" etc.

clef23-1.wav 32KB
Uso de wa nai.
(It) is not a lie (= Take my word.)
Like "it is not a joke" appears in Japanese as jo~dan ja nai, "it is not a lie" appears in Japanese as uso ja nai. Notice that Clef used de wa instead of ja here, though it might be hard to hear for you.

asct23-1.wav 40KB
Uso tsuki!
(You) liar!
A liar is Uso tsuki in Japanese.

umi23-6.wav 78KB
Hidoi! Uso wo tsuita no ne!?
How terrible! You told me a lie, didn't you?
Pay attention to tsuita part. It is the past tense of a verb tsuku (sound similar to tsuki in above Ascot's phrase, isn't it? Yes, you are right. Tsuki and tsuita are all conjugated forms of a verb tsuku (= to tell (a lie)) But it is not important here, please just memorize the phrase as it is.). No and ne at the end are particles you already know. (no makes your speech kinda soft, ne is a tag question maker)

rei23-2.wav 46KB
Uso wo tsuke (or uso wo tsuku na)
Don't be silly! You are just kidding me. Don't talk rot. etc.
This one is very easy to remember, I think. You can omit wo, too! Tsuke (As in ike (<- iku) sound like you are ordering someone to tell a lie, but it doesn't mean "tell a lie" but it means "Don't tell a lie."

Omake

In Anime, characters always encounter some challenging tasks such as fighting with formidable enemies, and so on. Then, usually, they say (at least first) "I can't (do it, it is too difficult)!" It appears in Japanese as deki nai.

fuu23-1.wav 27KB
Deki nai
(I) can't!
Deki (<- dekiru: dictionary form) part means "can" and by adding nai (= not), then you get "cannot." Hmmm, it is logical, isn't it?
fuu23-2.wav 20KB
Deki masen
If you are a polite person, use masen instead of nai. Masen is the negative form of masu. Logically, "I can" is dekiru or deki masu.

alco23-2.wav 28KB
Dekiru wa

How did you do today? I hope you build up your vocabulary little by little so that you will understand grammatical rules when I introduce them in future. Ja mata!

Go back to Top of the Lesson

Go back to JAL Title Page

LESSON 24

TODAY'S TOPIC: Koko wa doko nanda!?
" Where am I?"

In lesson 21, we learned nani (what), and today we will learn doko (= where).

First listen to Hikaru and repeat after her, please.

hkr24-1.wav 50KB
Umi-chan, doko da?
Umi-chan, where are you?
This phrase can be translated directly as "Umi, where is?"

hkr24-2.wav 86KB
Koko wa doko nanda?
Where is this place? ( = where am I?)
Koko means "here." Does this sound similar to kore or kono to you? Right. They belong to same kind of words called demonstratives. I will explain this later in this lesson. You can just say, koko wa doko or koko doko or koko wa doko da, etc., but if you add nanda (this is not nan to mean "what" here), you sound like asking someone "where am I? I demand explanation." "tell me the reason why I am here." etc. However, nanda can be used simply to emphasize what you say, too. In similar fashion, you can say Nan nanda to mean "what is it? Tell me."

umi24-1.wav 53KB
Doko nano, koko?
Where is this place? (= What kind of place is this?)
Nano here means the same as nanda above but softer. As always, you don't need to worry about word order, thus you can put koko at the end.

alco24-1.wav 122KB
Mo~ hitori wa do~shita? Doko e itta no?!
What happened to the one more person ( = the remaining one Magic Knight)? Where did she go?
Mo~ means "more" and hitori means one person, thus mo~ hitori means "one more person," here Alcyone meant Umi. (Alcyone thought she captured all the three Magic Knights, but somehow Umi wasn't captured and Alcyone was looking for Umi.) E after doko is a particle that means "to" thus doko e means "to where." Itta is the past tense of a verb iku (as in iku yo! Do you remember?).

All right, let me introduce you one more word today.

umi24-2.wav 24KB
Dare?
Who is it?
Dare means "who." Since we often omit pronouns in normal conversation, you don't need to say "it" part. You can say dare da?, dare desu ka? etc. adding be-verb, too.

rei24-1.wav 98KB
Anata wa dare desu ka?
Who are you?
This is an example that has no omission. I think you understand the sentence structure without my explanation for this one. Hint: The direct translation is "As for you, who is it?"

Here is a chart for demonstratives.
Demonstrative words are used to indicate objects, people, places, directions, time, etc. in reference to the position of the speaker and listener. In Japanese they follow a very convenient pattern, (Note: Demonstratives may be interpreted as singular or plural, as the case may be.) (Japanese for Everyone, P 335)

Omake
Just one of the important phrases in Anime ^_^.

hkr24-4.wav 49KB
Kuso~!
Damn!
I don't want to explain what kuso means. If you are curious, consult your dictionary, please.

asct24-5.wav154KB
Kuso~! Yokumo, boku no Ryu~shii wo!
Damn! How dare you (hurt, kill, or whatever) My Lucy!
Yokumo means "how dare you." I think you hear this word VERY often in Anime. Boku is "I" used usually by kids (do you remember? Good!). No functions like "'s" in English (Do you remember this one, too? Great!), thus boku no means "my."

Well, that's all for this week's lessons. Hope you enjoyed. Ja, mata raishuu!

Go back to Top of the Lesson

Go back to JAL Title Page

This is the end of Week 6