Learn the key pattern to say where you're from
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| Let's take a closer look at the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Ken Kobayashi asks, |
| "Mr. Lee, where are you from?" |
| こばやし けん: リーさん、しゅっしんは どこですか。 |
| (Rī-san, shusshin wa doko desu ka.) |
| First is リーさん, "Mr. Lee." リーさん. |
| This starts with Mark Lee's family name, リー, "Lee." リー. |
| After this is さん, a polite suffix attached to a person's name that translates as "Mr." in Mark's case. さ-ん (slow version - breakdown by syllable). さん. |
| Note: this suffix can be used with any gender. |
| Together, リーさん, "Mr. Lee." リーさん. |
| Next is the word, しゅっしん, "hometown." しゅ-っ-し-ん (slow version - breakdown by syllable). しゅっしん. |
| Remember this word, because you'll see it again in Mark's response. |
| After this is the particle, は, the topic-marking particle. は. |
| It marks "hometown" as the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for" in the expression "as for your hometown." |
| Together, it's しゅっしんは, "as for [your] hometown." しゅっしんは. |
| Note: the "your" is understood through context, as the speaker is asking a question. |
| しゅっしん は. |
| Next is the word, どこ, "where." どこ (slow version - breakdown by syllable). どこ. |
| After this is です. Here, it's like the "is" in "where is." で-す (slow version - breakdown by syllable). です. |
| Last is the particle, か, the question-marking particle. か. |
| This particle turns the sentence into a question. |
| All together, it's リーさん、しゅっしんは どこですか。This literally means "Mr. Lee, as for [your] hometown, where is," but it translates as "Mr. Lee, where are you from?" リーさん、しゅっしんは どこですか。 |
| Remember this question. You'll hear it again later in this lesson. |
| Now, let's take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Mark Lee says, |
| "I'm from New York." |
| リー マーク: しゅっしんは ニューヨークです。 |
| Rī Māku: Shusshin wa Nyū Yōku desu. |
| First is しゅっしん, "hometown." しゅっしん. |
| Next is the particle, は, the topic-marking particle. は. |
| It marks "hometown" as the topic of the sentence. |
| Together it's, しゅっしん は. "As for [my] hometown." しゅっしんは. |
| Note: the "my" is understood through context, as the speaker is responding to a question about his hometown. |
| Next is ニューヨーク, "New York." ニューヨーク(slow version - breakdown by syllable). ニューヨーク. |
| Last is です. In this case, it's like the "is" in "it is." です. |
| All together, しゅっしんは ニューヨークです。This literally means, "As for [my] hometown, New York is," but it translates as, "I'm from New York." しゅっしんは ニューヨークです。 |
| The pattern is |
| しゅっしん は {hometown} です。 |
| "I'm from {hometown}." |
| しゅっしん は {hometown} です。 |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {hometown} placeholder with the name of your hometown. |
| Imagine you're from Sydney. In Japanese, シドニー. シドニー. (slow version - breakdown by syllable) シドニー. |
| Say |
| "I'm from Sydney" |
| Ready? |
| マーティン ミア: しゅっしんは シドニーです。 |
| (Shusshin wa Shidonī desu.) |
| Mia Martin: "I'm from Sydney." |
| マーティン ミア: しゅっしんは シドニーです。 |
| (Shusshin wa Shidonī desu.) |
Comments
Hide