Latest / Learn Japanese with Fexingo / Japanese Question Words - Who & When
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, ready to ask more questions in Japanese? Luna: Yes! Last time we learned 'what' and 'where' — that was so useful. Lucas: Exactly. Today we'll add two more question words: 誰 and いつ. They mean 'who' and 'when'. Luna: Oh, 誰 — that's 'who', right? I think I've heard that. Lucas: That's right. 誰. Let's practice together. Repeat after me: 誰. Luna: 誰. Lucas: Perfect. And いつ means 'when'. Repeat: いつ. Luna: いつ. Lucas: Great. Now let's use them in sentences. To ask 'Who is that person?' you say: あの人は誰ですか. Luna: あの人は誰ですか. That's 'who is that person?' Lucas: Yes. あの人 means 'that person'. So together, it's 'that person who is?' — but in English we say 'who is that person?' Luna: Got it. So if I see someone and I want to ask, I say あの人は誰ですか. Lucas: Exactly. Now for 'when'. Say 'When is the meeting?' — 会議はいつですか. Luna: 会議はいつですか. 会議 is meeting, right? Lucas: Yes! You remembered from a past episode. Good job. Luna: Awesome. So 会議はいつですか — 'when is the meeting?' Lucas: Let's do one more: 'Who is the teacher?' — 先生は誰ですか. Luna: 先生は誰ですか. That's easy — 先生 is teacher, 誰 is who. Lucas: You're catching on. Let's practice all three sentences. Repeat after me: あの人は誰ですか. Luna: あの人は誰ですか. Lucas: 会議はいつですか. Luna: 会議はいつですか. Lucas: 先生は誰ですか. Luna: 先生は誰ですか. Lucas: Now let's do a little scene. Imagine we're at work, and I'm asking you about a meeting. I say: 会議はいつですか. Luna: I'd answer with a time. Let's say: 会議は午後二時です. So 'the meeting is at 2 PM.' Lucas: Nice. You used the time we learned earlier! Okay, another scene. You see someone at a party. You ask me: あの人は誰ですか. Luna: あの人は誰ですか. And you say: 彼は友達です. 'He is a friend.' Lucas: Perfect. Now let's bring it together. I'll ask, you answer. Luna: いいですよ. Ready. Lucas: 先生は誰ですか. Luna: 先生は田中さんです. Lucas: Excellent. You're building full sentences. Now, let's hear those question words one more time. 誰 and いつ. Luna: 誰, いつ. Lucas: Before we go on — Luna, I want to mention something. Fexingo keeps this podcast ad-free, and that's thanks to listeners who find it useful and choose to support. Luna: Yeah, it's such a small thing but it really makes a difference. If today's lesson helped you, you can support at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Exactly. It helps us keep going and making more episodes like this. Now, back to practice. Let's try a mini conversation. Luna: Okay! I'll start. すみません、先生は誰ですか. Lucas: 先生は山田さんです. Good. Now you ask about a meeting. Luna: 会議はいつですか. Lucas: 会議は明日です. 'The meeting is tomorrow.' Luna: Ah, 明日 — that's 'tomorrow'. I remember that from a previous episode. Lucas: See, everything connects. Now try asking 'who is that person' about someone over there. Luna: あの人は誰ですか. Lucas: あの人はルーカスです — wait, that's me! Okay, let's wrap up with a quick review. Repeat after me: 誰. Luna: 誰. Lucas: いつ. Luna: いつ. Lucas: あの人は誰ですか. Luna: あの人は誰ですか. Lucas: 会議はいつですか. Luna: 会議はいつですか. Lucas: 先生は誰ですか. Luna: 先生は誰ですか. Lucas: Perfect. You can now ask 'who' and 'when' in Japanese. Practice using them when you see people or events. Keep it up, and see you next time! Luna: Thanks, Lucas! This was really fun. See you all next episode!