Learn the key pattern to talk about your occupation
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| Let's take a closer look at the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Mark asks, |
| Mark Lee: "Mr. Kobayashi, are you a student?" |
| リー マーク: こばやしさんは がくせいですか。 (Kobayashi-san wa gakusei desu ka.) |
| First is こばやしさん, "Mr. Kobayashi." こばやしさん. |
| This starts with Ken's family name こばやし, "Kobayashi." こばやし (slow version - breakdown by syllable). こばやし. |
| After this is さん, a polite suffix attached to a person's name. It translates as "Mr." in Ken's case. さ-ん(slow version - breakdown by syllable). さん. |
| Note: This suffix can be used with any gender. |
| Together, こばやしさん, "Mr. Kobayashi." こばやしさん. |
| After this is the particle, は, the topic-marking particle. は (slow version).は. |
| It marks "Mr. Kobayashi" as the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for" in the expression "as for Mr. Kobayashi." |
| Together, it's こばやしさんは, "as for Mr. Kobayashi." こばやしさんは. |
| In Japanese, it's more common and polite to address a person by his or her name and polite suffix rather than directly with "you." |
| After this is, がくせい, "student." がくせい (slow version - breakdown by syllable). がくせい. |
| Next is です. Here, it's like the "are" in "are you." で-す (slow version - breakdown by syllable). です. |
| Last is the particle, か, the question-marking particle. か. か. |
| This particle turns the sentence into a question. |
| All together, it's こばやしさんはがくせいですか。This literally means "As for Mr. Kobayashi, student [you] are?" but it translates as "Mr. Kobayashi, are you a student?" こばやしさんはがくせいですか。 |
| Let's take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Ken Kobayashi says, |
| "No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor." |
| いいえ、がくせいでは ありません。とうしかです。 (Iie, gakusei de wa arimasen. Tōshika desu.) |
| First is いいえ, meaning, "no." い-い-え (slow version - breakdown by syllable). いいえ. |
| It answers Mark's yes-or-no question, "Are you a student?" がくせいですか。 |
| Next, Ken says, |
| がくせいでは ありません。"I'm not a student." がくせいではありません。 |
| First is がくせい, "student." がくせい. |
| After this is ではありません. Here, it's like the "am not" in "I am not." It's a polite negative form of the linking verb. で-は-あ-り-ま-せ-ん (slow version - breakdown by syllable). ではありません. |
| Note: ではありません comes from the linking verb, だ, "to be." だ. |
| All together, it's がくせいではありません。This literally means "Student [I] am not," but it translates as "I'm not a student." がくせいではありません。 |
| Note: the "I" is understood through context, as Ken is responding to the question. |
| Finally, Ken says, |
| とうしかです。"I'm an investor." とうしかです。 |
| First is とうしか, "investor." とうしか (slow version - breakdown by syllable). とうしか. |
| After this is です. Here, it's like the "am" in "I am." です. |
| All together, it's とうしかです。This literally means "Investor [I] am," but it translates as "I'm an investor." とうしかです。 |
| Note: the "I" is understood through context. |
| All together, いいえ、がくせいでは ありません。とうしかです。"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor." いいえ、がくせいでは ありません。とうしかです。 |
| The pattern is |
| いいえ、{occupation} ではありません。{actual occupation} です。 |
| "No, I'm not {occupation}. I'm {actual occupation}." |
| いいえ、{occupation} ではありません。{actual occupation} です。 |
| Imagine you're Emma Egawa, a student. |
| Ken asks you if you're an "investor." |
| Say |
| "No, I'm not an investor. I'm a student." |
| Ready? |
| えがわ エマ: いいえ、とうしかではありません。がくせいです。 (Iie, tōshika de wa arimasen. Gakusei desu.) |
| Emma Egawa: "No, I'm not an investor. I'm a student." |
| えがわ エマ: いいえ、とうしか ではありません。がくせいです。 (Iie, tōshika de wa arimasen. Gakusei desu.) |
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