2.2: Dialogue 2

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Michael: Otaku wa dochira desu ka. Where is your house?

お宅たくはどちらですか。

Honda: Yokohama desu. It’s in Yokohama.

横浜よこはまです。

Michael: Tsuugaku wa densha desu ka. Do you commute by train?

通学つうがくは電車でんしゃですか。

Honda: Ee, uchi kara daigaku made densha de ichi-jikan gurai kakarimasu. Yes, from home to university it takes about an hour by train.

ええ、うちから大学だいがくまで、電車でんしゃで一時間いちじかんぐらいかかります。

Michael: Sore wa taihen desu nee. That must be hard. それは大変たいへんですねえ。

Vocabulary

otaku おたくお宅 home (polite)
＋shusshin しゅっしん出身 hometown, birthplace, where from
yokohama よこはま横浜 Yokohama
tsuugaku つうがく通学 commute to school (noun)
＋tsuukin つうきん通勤 commute to work (noun)
densha でんしゃ電車 train
＋chikatetsu ちかてつ地下鉄 subway
＋basu バス bus
＋kuruma くるま車 car
＋jitensha じてんしゃ自転車 bicycle
＋takushii タクシー taxi
＋toho とほ徒歩 walk (noun)
＋hikouki ひこうき飛行機 airplane
＋shinkansen しんかんせん新幹線 bullet train
＋fune ふね船 boat
uchi うち内、家 home, house
kara から particle: from
made まで particle: as far as, up to
de で particle: by means of
densha でんしゃで電車で by train
~jikan 〜じかん時間 ~hours
ichi-jikan いちじかん一時間 one hour
gurai ぐらい about, approximately
＋yaku やく約 about, approximately
＋yaku ichi-jikan やくいちじかん約一時間 about an hour
＋hodo ほど about, as much as
kakarimasu かかります it takes (time, money, etc.)
＋nagai ながい長い long
＋mijikai みじかい短い short

Grammar Notes

Counting Hours

You saw the classifier ~ji for telling time in Lesson 2, as in ichi-ji ‘one o’clock’
and ichi-ji han ‘1:30’. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to COUNT time, i.e., how to
describe length of time. The first classifier of this type is –jikan for counting hours,. It
attaches to the Chinese numerals. Ichi-jikan means one hour and ichi-jikan han means
one and a half hours. The question word for ‘how many hours’ is nan-jikan, while the
question word for ‘what time’ is nan-ji. Also note that jikan alone means time in general.

時間じかんがありません。Jikan ga arimasen. There is no time.
時間じかんがかかります。Jikan ga kakarimasu. It takes time.
ちょっと、お時間じかん、いいですか Chotto, ojikan ii desu ka.
Do you have some time (Can I talk to you?)?

Approximation: ~ぐらい、〜ほど、約〜

~gurai, ~hodo and yaku all mean ‘about’ and indicate an approximate quantity. ~gurai and ~hodo follow the quantity expression while yaku~ precedes it: :

一時間いちじかんぐらいあります。 Ichi-jikan gurai arimasu. We have about an hour.

一時間いちじかんほどあります。 Ichi-jikan hodo arimasu. We have about an hour.

約一時間やくいちじかんあります。 Yaku ichi-jikan arimasu. We have about an hour.

一万円いちまんえんぐらいかかります。 Ichi-man-en gurai kakarimasu. It costs about ten thousand yen

約一万円やくいちまんえんかかります。 Yaku ichi-man-en kakarimasu. It costs about ten thousand yen.

You may even hear yaku ichi-jikan gurai or yaku ichi-jikan hodo. It may seem redundant to have approximation expressed twice in the same phrase, but this is common.

Dore grai and dono gurai both ask ‘how long/how much’ and ikura gurai asks how much (money).

会社かいしゃまで、どのぐらいかかりますか. Kaisha made dono gurai kakarimasu ka. How long does it take to get to work?

このアパート、いくらぐらいでしょうか. Kono apaato, ikura gurai deshou ka. How much do you suppose this apartment (rent) is?

Approximation, or making things vague, is preferred over being exact and considered more polite in many situations in Japan. This may be because the approximation allows wiggle room. So, when given an approximate number, you are expected to figure out what number is actually meant in each context. Unless it’s critical, Japanese people usually do not request clarification.

the starting point ~kara、the ending point ~made

The particle kara indicates the point from which something starts and the particle まで indicates the limit at which something ends.

三時さんじから、会議かいぎです。 San-ji kara, kaigi desu. From 3:00, I have a meeting.

先生せんせいからメールが来きました。 Sensei kara meeru ga kimashita. An email came from the teacher.

京都きょうとまで、いくらですか。 Kyouto made ikura desu ka. How much is it to go to Kyoto?

駅えきまで、お願ねがいします。 Eki made onegai-shimasu. To the station, please. (in a taxi).

朝あさから晩ばんまで、仕事しごとです。 Asa kara ban made shigoto desu. I work from morning till night.

Compare the examples below with time expressions:

三時さんじにします。 San-ji ni shimasu. I’ll do it at three.

三時さんじからします。 San-ji kara shimasu. I’ll do it from three.

三時さんじまでします。 San-ji made shimasu. I’ll do it until three.

Compare the examples below with location expressions:

東京とうきょうに行いきます。 Toukyou ni ikimasu. I’ll go to Tokyo (I may go to other places as well).

東京とうきょうで会議かいぎに行いきます。 Toukyou de kaigi ni ikimasu. I’ll go to a meeting in Tokyo.

東京とうきょうから行いきます。 Toukyou kara ikimasu. I’ll go from Tokyo.

東京とうきょうまで行いきます。 Toukyoumade ikimasu. I’ll go up to Tokyo (but not farther).

The noun plus these particles makes a noun phrase so they can be directly followed by desu and take no to modify another noun.

会議かいぎは三時さんじから四時よじまでです。 Kaigi wa san-ji kara yoji-made desu. The meeting is from three to four.

アメリカからの留学生りゅうがくせい Amerika kara no ryuugakusei an exchange student from America

銀行ぎんこうは三時さんじまでじゃないですか。Ginkou wa san-ji made ja naidesu ka. Isn’t the bank open until three?