Negative requests; casual speech; age; a zoo

[music playing] Kyou no ressun wa nani o suru? Nani o oshieru? Nani ga ii kana? Panda, raion, zou, tora. Doubutsu no shashin o misete ... A! Sumimasen! Konnichiwa! O-genki desu ka? Kyou mo tanoshiku issho ni Nihongo o benkyou shimashou! [sound effect] Ever since you learned how to make polite requests I have been using the 'te kudasai' pattern in every lesson. Benkyou shite kudasai. Takusan kaite kudasai. Itte kudasai. Please do this, please do that, etc. But what if we want to say, 'Please do not do it'. Can we also use 'te kudasai' with the negative verb form? Indeed, we can! For example, with the verb 'taberu/tabemasu', 'Please don't eat' is 'Tabenaide kudasai.' With 'miru/mimasu', 'Please don't look' is 'Minaide kudasai'. With 'neru/nemasu', 'Please don't go to sleep' is 'Nenaide kudasai'. With 'suru/shimasu', 'Please don't do' is 'Shinaide kudasai'. That's easy, isn't it? Instead of 'te kudasai', the polite requests in negative uses 'naide kudasai'. 'Nai' in the 'naide kudasai' is the basic negative element. You have actually seen 'nai' in some other negative sentences, Watashi wa gakusei ja nai desu. Kono eiga wa omoshiroku nai desu. 'Nai desu' can replace 'arimasen' in those negative sentences in a more colloquial speech. So, let's go back to the new pattern 'verb plus naide kudasai', such as 'tabenaide kudasai' and 'shinaide kudasai'. It looks easy doesn't it? Why did I not introduce this earlier, if it is that easy?! Because it's actually not quite as easy as I have made you believe. It's the u-verbs again! Remember how u-verbs te-forms are so unpredictable I had to even show you some mnemonic songs? (to the tune of "Oh My Darling, Clementine"). U, tsu, ru, tte, Mu,bu,nu, nde, Ku, ite, Gu, ide, Su, shite, Suru, shite, Kuru, kite, Iku, itte. Well, it's not that bad, but once again, u-verbs have plain negative forms that are a little harder than the ru-verbs. [sound effect] Before showing you those u-verb te-forms, I will show you how the straightforward ru-verbs will change in the basic, non-polite negative form with the ending '-nai'. By the way, the basic, non-polite form is often called the 'plain form'. The dictionary forms of verbs like 'taberu' and 'suru' and 'iku' can be called the present affirmative plain forms. You already know the present affirmative plain forms. like 'taberu', 'neru', 'suru', and so on. In this lesson, we are focusing on the present negative plain forms. So, as I have showed you, 'taberu' becomes 'tabenai'. 'Miru' becomes minai'. It's the usual verb stem, like 'tabe' from 'tabemasu' and 'mi' from 'mimasu' but with the negative 'nai' ending attached to it, 'tabenai' and 'minai'. tabenai. minai. These plain negative forms sound basic and non-polite. But when you make polite negative requests using 'naide kudasai', you need to use the negative te-form ending in 'naide'. Notice that the sound of the 'te' syllable here becomes a voiced sound 'de' because of the voiced 'nai' in front. This sound change is similar to the one we have seen in some of the u-verbs, such as 'nomu/nonde' and 'isogu/isoide'. So, as far as the grammar is concerned, we still call it a 'te' form, but the actual sound is always, 'de', because of the 'nai-de'; tabenaide, minaide. Once we have the negative 'nai-de' form, we just attach the polite request 'kudasai'. Tabenaide kudasai. Minaide kudasai. Okurenaide kudasai. Denwa o kakenaide kudasai. Gomi o sutenaide kudasai. You can do this with all the ru-verbs. As for the irregular verb 'suru', it becomes 'shinaide kudasi.' 'Suru' is irregular because the root of the verb changes in many forms. For example, the initial sound changes from 'su' to 'shi' in the masu form, 'shimasu'. Although it's irregular in how it goes from the plain form to the polite 'masu' form, once you get the masu form, 'suru' has been pretty easy, even the te-form is simply 'shi-te. The plain negative form also uses 'shi' to become 'shi-nai'. shinai. And for the negative te-form, you just use 'shinai' and attach 'de', shinaide. So, 'Please don't do' is 'Shinaide kudasai' as you have heard earlier. Shinaide kudasai. So, 'suru' is actually quite regular, once we leave behind the plain dictionary form. As for plain form negative requests, here are a couple examples, Koko de tenisu o shinaide kudasai. Ima shigoto o shinaide kudasai. Then how about 'kuru'? The irregular verb 'kuru' is different from 'suru'. The negative plain form is not 'kinai'. 'Kuru' goes through a new root change! In the plain negative form, or we can call it the nai-form, the root 'ku' becomes 'ko'. So, we get 'konai'. konai. Then we just add 'de' to negative 'konai' to make a negative te-form, konaide. And then the negative polite request, 'Please don't come' is, Konaide kudasai. So, that's the ru-verbs and the two irregular verbs—tabenaide, shinaide, konaide. Now, let's turn to the u-verb plain negative forms. As I said earlier, the u-verbs do not use the root from the masu-form plus the 'nai' ending. Instead, the '-u' ending becomes '-anai'. I'll say it again, U becomes Anai. So, 'iku' becomes ikanai. And the polite negative request is, Ikanaide kudasai. Let's try 'nomu', 'to drink'. U becomes Anai, so the plain negative is, nomanai. Using that, please say the polite negative request, Nomanaide kudasai. Let's use 'nugu' but we'll add the direct object 'kutsu o'. How do we say 'not take off the shoes' in plain negative? You know the pattern, U becomes Anai kutsu o nuganai. How about the polite negative request, 'Please don't take off your shoes?' Kutsu o nuganaide kudasai. What about 'ma-tsu'? Same pattern, except there's a sound change in the consonant. We get 'matanai' for the 'nai-form'. Let's say 'don't wait for me' using the direct object 'watashi o'. Watashi o matanai. So, the 'tsu' sound in 'matsu' becomes 'tanai'. Japanese does not have the sound 'tsanai'. You remember from the hiragana sequence "ta, chi, tsu, te, to" that the corresponding 'a' sound for 'tsu' is 'ta'. Now, what's the polite negative request, 'Please don't wait for me'? Watashi o matanaide kudasai. You know that some verbs ending in 'ru' are actually u-verbs. Here are a few u-verbs ending in 'ru' to remember, hairu, noru, wataru, magaru, toru, tsukuru. How about the verb 'to run' which is 'hashiru/hashirimasu'. What's the plain negative of 'hashiru'? Remember, U becomes Anai!—hashiranai.. And the polite negative request? Hashiranaide kudasai. Once you know the pattern "U becomes Anai," it's pretty regular. Migi ni magaranaide kudasai. Shashin o toranaide kudasai. hashiranaide kudasai. The one group of u-verbs that shows a slight irregularity is those ending in 'u' without any consonant, like 'utau' and 'kau'. Unlike you might expect, it is not 'uta-anai' and 'kaanai'. Then what is the plain negative of 'utau'? Utawanai. How do you say, 'Please don't sing'? Utawanaide kudasai. How about 'kau' in the same pattern? Kawanai. Let's try to say, 'Please don't buy an expensive one'. The direct object 'an expensive one' is 'takai no o'. Takai no o kawanaide kudasai. Dou desu ka? Chotto muzukashii desu kedo, daijoubu desu yo ne? [sound effect] From the start of this course in Lesson 1, we have been using the polite speech style. That's because the polite speech can be used in a variety of situations. And as someone who is new to the language, it's better to be polite than not polite because you could annoy or even offend people you barely know by speaking to them too casually or too bluntly. But after over 20 lessons of politeness, I think you are ready to be a little more casual towards people who you know well that are your own age or younger. But for people older than you, you want to keep the polite desu/masu style, even if you have known them quite well! If the people you are speaking to are your friends and younger or the same age as you, you can drop the 'desu/masu' ending. But even then, as a novice speaker of Japanese, you may want to wait until the other person chooses to talk with you more causally. And even if you don't use these forms yourself much at first, these casual forms will help you better understand all sorts of Japanese shows, manga, and informal digital communications of all kinds. So, how do we talk casually without 'desu' and 'masu'? Simply drop them, and we often use those sentence ending particles like 'yo', 'ne', etc. Even the question particle 'ka' might be omitted. For example, instead of 'nani o shimasu ka', someone might say simply 'nani suru'. Instead of 'isogashii desu ka?', someone might simply ask 'ishogashii?' So, I'll give you an example. Here's a polite-style dialogue you hear first. [BECKY] Kenji-san, ashita wa nani o shimasu ka? [KENJI] Mada wakarimasen. Dokoka ni ikitai desu kedo.Bekkii-san wa? Ashita isogashii desu ka? [BECKY] Watashi wa ashita isogashiku arimasen yo.Issho ni manga-kissa ni ikimasen ka? So, without changing the meaning of these sentences, we are only changing the politeness level now. The two people are speaking informally, without any of the polite endings. When you hear this, you can also expect that they are close in age as well. [BECKY] Kenji (-kun), ashita wa nani (o) suru? [KENJI] Mada wakaranai. Dokoka ni ikitai kedo.Bekkii (-chan) wa? Ashita isogashii? [BECKY] Watashi wa ashita isogashiku nai yo.Issho ni manga-kissa ni ikanai? The informal speech is much shorter isn't it? It sounds easier, but as I showed you, the negative verb plain form can be trickier than the polite negative form with masen'. Also, when speaking casually, the particles used for very obvious functions often get dropped. So, when Becky asks 'Nani o suru', she is likely to drop the direct object particle 'o' and just say 'Nani suru.' That's because it's so obvious that 'nani' is the direct object. Ashita wa nani (o) suru? Another change is that two friends are much less likely to use the name suffix 'san'. Close friends can use 'chan' for boys or girls, or with adults when relations are very close. Adult relative can be called 'chan', such as 'obaachan' and 'ojiichan' for grandma and grandpa. When I was growing up, all my friends called me 'Yuki-chan'. But teenagers and young adults also like to call their close friends by their names without any such suffixes. So, when I was in high school, a few of my close friends would call me just 'Yuki'. Boys and men often use 'kun' when speaking to someone younger, whether in a company or school. People often casually call their friends by their nicknames based on their last names, too. For example, 'Watanabe-san' often gets the nickname 'Nabe-chan'. My father who is a Mr. Sasaki, had a nickname which was 'Sasa-yan', 'yan' being a funny variant of 'chan'.Some TV shows and anime have had titles containing 'chan' such as Amachan, Chibi Maruko-chan, Himitsu no Akko-chan and Crayon Shin-chan. [sound effect] In this lesson, I will show you the age counter 'sai' for someone's age. As you have seen before, numbers like 'ichi', 'hachi' and 'juu' get contracted to 'issai', 'hassai' and 'jussai'. is-sai, ni-sai, san-sai, yon-sai, go-sai, roku-sai, nana-sai, has-sai, kyuu-sai, jus-sai, hyaku-sai, nan-sai. 'Twenty-years old' can be 'ni-jussai', but more frequently, we use the variant in the native Japanese, which is 'hatachi'. Nijussai or hatachi. Uchi no musume wa mou hatachi desu. [sound effect] Sate, sore de wa, daiaroogu no jikan desu! Mazu, watashi no hanashi o kiite kudasai. Konkai mo Kurisu-san to Watanabe-san desu. I'm sure by now you feel like you know Chris-san and Watanabe-san from the previous three dialogues. After their talk, Watanabe-san invited his friendly colleague Chris-san to go to the zoo with his family. When Chris-san first meets Watanabe-san's family, Watanabe-san indicates his wife by saying, Kochira ga uchi no kanai desu. It is considered very impolite to point at someone using 'kore/sore/are'. It's like pointing your finger directly at someone! Although it's acceptable to use 'kore/sore/are' to refer to the speaker's own family, it's considered rude to use them about anyone else, especially if that person is present. So instead, you can vaguely show the general area where the person you are referring to is by using 'kochira/sochira/achira' which are equivalents of 'this side/that side/that side over there'. That way, you can avoid pointing at the person directly. kochira, sochira, achira, dochira. In this dialogue you will hear both the polite and informal speech styles. When Chris interacts with either Mr. or Mrs. Watanabe, they speak politely. But whenever one of the adults speaks to the kids, the adults use the informal speech. The kids mostly use the informal speech to everyone at this young stage. Notice that the polite copula 'desu' becomes 'da' in a statement when used with a noun or a na-adjective in casual speech. Totemo genki da ne! Kyou wa boku no tanjoubi da yo! Mou go-sai da yo! In a question, even the plain copula 'da' is mostly omitted. And so is the question particle 'ka', where rising intonation can make clear when there's a question. Ima, nan-sai? Sore de wa, daiaroogu o kikimasu yo. Try to listen for the differences in polite and informal speech styles. Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe, their son Hayato and daughter Ema are waiting for Chris in front of the entrance to the zoo. [CHRIS] A, Watanabe-san! Doumo. Okurete, sumimasen. [MR. WATANABE] Ie, mada hayai kara daijoubu desu yo. Kochira ga uchi no kanai desu. Sorekara musuko no Hayato to musume no Ema desu. [MRS. WATANABE] Hajimemashite. Shujin ga itsumo kaisha de o-sewa ni natte imasu. [CHRIS] Doumo. Hajimemashite. Kochira koso, o-sewa ni natte imasu. Hayato-kun mo Ema-chan mo, yoroshiku ne. [MRS. WATANABE] Hora, Hayato, Ema, Kurisu-san ni "Konnichiwa" wa? [HAYATO & EMA] Konnichiwaaaa!! [CHRIS] Hayato-kun mo Ema-chan mo totemo genki da ne! [HAYATO] Un! Nee, Kurisu-san, kyou wa boku no tanjoubi da yo! [CHRIS] A, sou da yo ne. O-tanjoubi omedetou! Ima, nan-sai? [HAYATO] Mou go-sai da yo! Kyou wa panda miru yo! Sorekara raion mo! [MRS. WATANABE] Hora, Ema, hashiranai de! Minna to issho ni aruite yo! [EMA] Minna, isoide yo! Ema, hayaku doubutsu-en ni hairitai! Minasan, dou deshita ka? Did you notice we only know Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe by their last name? It's not unusual at all among adults that they only go by their last names, especially between people talking politely to each other. Sometimes people don't find out someone's first name for a long time, even when they have known each other for quite a while. People often call other adults like this, 'Watanabe-san', or 'Watanabe-san no okusan' for the wife or 'Watanabe-san no goshujin' for the husband. On the other hand, because Japanese people know that American people usually call people by their first name, it's quite likely you will be called by your first name, like 'Kurisu-san'. When Mrs. Watanabe met Chris-san, she used the very common phrase that is almost like a greeting when meeting a family member's friends or colleagues. Shujin ga (itsumo) o-sewa ni natte imasu. 'Sewa' means 'care'. It can imply help and support. So, 'sewa ni naru' means 'to receive care or help from someone'. When someone says that, the typically response is 'kochira koso', meaning 'likewise' or 'the same here'. Kochira koso [o-sewa ni natte imasu]. Mrs. Watanabe used the causal interjection 'hora' to her children, meaning 'hey' or 'look'. Hora, Ema, hashiranaide. Notice that 'kudasai' gets dropped in the casual requests from 'te kudasai' and 'naide kudasai'. Minna, isoide yo! At the end, the little girl Ema referred to herself as 'Ema' instead of using 'watashi'. Some little kids may use their own name instead of any first-person pronoun. [sound effect] Japan's oldest and most popular zoo or doubsuen was established in Ueno Park of Tokyo back in the year 'sen happyaku hachijuu ni nen' which is 1882. But there are plenty of newer places to see animals, too. In nearby Kanagawa prefecture, there is an open-air park called Zoorasia. And within view of Mt Fuji, there is Fuji Safari Park. My home prefecture of Saitama also has the zoo called Toubu Doubutsu Kouen or Tobu Zoo which is an hour away from Tokyo. [sound effect] Sore de wa, daiaroogu ga owarimashita kara, kanji o benkyou shimashou ka? Saisho no kanji wa... The first kanji is.... 'tomo' as in 'tomodachi', 'friend'. tomodachi. This kanji came from two identical elements representing two right hands. Two right hands held together, that's friendship! Start writing with the horizontal line. Then the rest is quite predictable for you by now. By the way, there is another word 'yuujin' which contains the on-reading of the character. Yuujin. Both 'tomodachi' and 'yuujin' mean the same thing. You can call your friends either way. 'Yuujin' may sound slightly more formal than 'tomodachi', and young children only know and use the word 'tomodachi'. You will definitely sound like a more mature speaker if you choose 'yuujin'. Here's another simple kanji. It's used for the action 'to stop' which is the word 'tomaru/tomarimasu'. Tomaru. It originates in the pictogram of a foot print which is a foot that has stopped! The kanji reads as 'to' as in 'tomaru' and this kanji is what both hiragana 'to' and katakana 'to' are made from! If you are walking or riding on the streets in Japan, you will often see this kanji. Yes, the Japanese stop sign shows this kanji. In fact, Japanese drivers can react to this simple single kanji even without reading the entire three-character word, so that's why the sign contains this character. Let's look at the next character which is used for 'hayai' 'quick' as well as 'hayaku' 'quickly' or 'early'. Having the "sun" component on top makes sense, doesn't it? But some say it comes from the pictogram of a dark acorn. It sounds far fetched, but you never know. Hayaku. The character itself is simple. Just draw the kanji for "sun" somewhat squashed flat, and then put the two strokes that looks like the kanji for "ten" right under it. The next character is used in the adjective 'onaji', 'same'. Onaji. Draw the outside part first, and then inside write the character one, and then the character for mouth. The next kanji is used for words such as mainichi 'every day'. mainichi. There are other time expressions containing this character, such as 'maishuu' 'every week', 'maitsuki' 'every month', and 'maitoshi' 'every year'. Maitsuki. This is the simplified version of the traditional form which had the bottom element looking just like the kanji for 'mother'. The last one is the kanji for year, 'toshi.' This kanji has the the kun-reading 'toshi' and the on-reading 'nen', and both are used very frequently. With either reading, the meaning is 'year'. When the character stands on its own, it's read as 'toshi'. maitoshi, kotoshi, rainen. Kono ressun de wa, 'naide kudasai' o benkyou shimashita ne? Can you make a few negative requests? Wasurenaide kudasai ne! Sore de wa tsugi mo mata, tanoshiku issho ni benkyou shimashou ne!