Latest / Learn Japanese with Fexingo / Japanese Office Phrases - 会議
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey Luna, welcome back to the show. I was just thinking about how we've covered a lot of everyday situations — cafés, convenience stores, even typhoons. But we haven't really talked about work yet. Luna: Oh, that's true. We've done shopping, food, weather... but not jobs. So what are we doing today? Lucas: Today, let's learn a few phrases you might use in an office, specifically around a meeting. It's a small topic but really useful if you ever work with Japanese people. Luna: Meetings, huh? I can use that. My imaginary boss is always scheduling them. So what's the first word? Lucas: The word for meeting is 会議. Say it with me: 会議. Luna: 会議. Hmm, that's not too hard. It sounds like 'kai-gi'. Lucas: Exactly. And when you want to say 'I have a meeting,' you say 会議があります. Let's break it down: 会議 means meeting, が is a particle, and あります means 'to exist' or 'to have.' So 会議があります. Luna: 会議があります. I have a meeting. That's useful. But wait, how do I say 'let's have a meeting'? Lucas: Great question. You say 会議をしましょう. The を marks the object, and しましょう means 'let's do.' So literally, 'let's do a meeting.' 会議をしましょう. Luna: 会議をしましょう. That's like 'let's have a meeting.' I like it. It's polite but friendly. Lucas: Yep. And before the meeting, you might need some documents. The word for documents or materials is 資料. Try it: 資料. Luna: 資料. Shiryō. That's a bit tricky with the prolonged sound, but I think I got it. Lucas: You did. Now let's put it together: 会議があります. I have a meeting. And you might say, 資料があります. I have the documents. But today we'll focus on the meeting itself. Luna: So if I have a meeting, I say 会議があります. And if I want to suggest one, 会議をしましょう. What about the room where the meeting happens? Lucas: Good thinking. That's 会議室. It combines 会議 and 室, which means room. So 会議室 is meeting room. Luna: 会議室. Meeting room. So if I want to say 'The meeting room is there,' I could say... hmm, we haven't learned 'there' yet. Lucas: Right, but that's okay. We'll keep it simple today. Just know these five phrases: 会議, 会議があります, 会議をしましょう, 資料, 会議室. That's plenty. Luna: Alright. Let's do a quick review. 会議 means meeting. 会議があります means I have a meeting. 会議をしましょう means let's have a meeting. 資料 is documents. And 会議室 is meeting room. Lucas: Perfect summary. Let's practice a tiny scene. Luna, pretend I'm your colleague. You come to my desk and say, '会議があります.' Luna: 会議があります. Oh, you have a meeting? Where? Lucas: Then I say, '会議室で.' But we haven't taught that. So instead, let's just practice the phrases. Say 会議があります one more time. Luna: 会議があります. I'm getting better at it. Lucas: You are. And this is a good point to mention — if today's phrases were useful to you, you know, the way Fexingo stays free and ad-free is through listener support. If you'd like to help, you can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it's a simple way to keep the episodes coming. No pressure, but it's nice if you can. Lucas: Anyway, let's get back to the meeting. Let's do one more round. I'll say a phrase, and you try to say it in Japanese. Ready? Luna: Ready. What's the first one? Lucas: Meeting. Luna: 会議. Lucas: I have a meeting. Luna: 会議があります. Lucas: Let's have a meeting. Luna: 会議をしましょう. Lucas: Documents. Luna: 資料. Lucas: Meeting room. Luna: 会議室. Lucas: Excellent. You've got all five. See you next time on Fexingo. Practice those phrases, and soon you'll be running the meeting in Japanese. Luna: Or at least convincing everyone I know what I'm doing. Thanks, Lucas. Bye! Lucas: Bye, Luna. See you all next episode.