Gengo Japanese #8 - Get What You Want Using Japanese!
このクレジットカードは大丈夫ですか。
Kono kurejitto kādo wa daijōbu desu ka.
"Can I use this credit card?"
In this lesson, you will:
● Learn useful vocabulary for buying tickets
● Learn how to use the word daijōbu (大丈夫)
● Learn a series of important words known as ko-so-a-do words
Buying Tickets
In the dialogue, Ashley successfully bought tickets for the Limousine Bus from Narita Airport
to Shinagawa Princess Hotel. Let's take a look at some vocabulary and phrases used when
buying tickets.
The first two vocabulary words are known as counters. Japanese has many counters, which
are words that we use to count specific items. The corresponding counter depends on the
appearance or make up of the item. For example, there are different counters for sheets of
paper and bottles because they are different in shape. Counters always come after the
number, which comes after the object being counted.
Counters for Paper:
Japanese
～枚
～mai
Meaning
counter for sheets of
paper (including tickets)
Mai (枚) is a counter that we use to count sheets of paper, which includes tickets.
Japanese
一枚
Romaji
ichi-mai
二枚
ni-mai
三枚
san-mai
四枚
yon-mai
English
one sheet of
paper
two sheets of
paper
three sheets of
paper
four sheets of
paper
Counters for People:
Japanese
～名
～mei
Meaning
counter for people
Mei (名) is a counter that we use to count people. We usually use this counter for people in
polite situations.
Japanese
一名
二名
三名
四名
Romaji
ichi-mei
ni-mei
san-mei
yon-mei
English
one person
two people
three people
four people
Made ("for (place)")
Japanese
～まで
～made
Meaning
for (place)/ until
Made (まで) literally means "until," but in this case it is commonly translated as "for (place)."
Examples:
1. 成田空港まで
Narita kūkō made
"for Narita Airport"
2. 東京駅まで
Tōkyō eki made
"for Tokyo Station"
Japanese
大人
otona
子供
kodomo
Meaning
adult
child
Examples:
1. 大人一枚
otona ichi-mai
"one adult ticket"
2. 子供二枚
kodomo ni-mai
"two child tickets"
Using Daijōbu (大 丈夫) and Dame (だめ)
Daijōbu and dame are two common and useful words that you will encounter a lot in
Japanese. Daijōbu (大丈夫) means "okay" or "all right," while dame (だめ) has the opposite
meaning and means "no good," "not okay," and "useless." These can refer to states ("I'm
okay," "I'm not okay") or actions ("It's okay to ____," "It's not okay to ____.").
To say that something is okay or not okay (depending on the context, this can mean a
variety of things), we use:
Topic
Topic
Copula
"okay"／ "not
Particle
okay"
[ something ]
は
wa
大丈夫／だめ
daijōbu／dame
です
desu
To ask whether something is okay or not, we simply add the question particle ka (か):
Topic
Topic
Particle
[ something ]
は
wa
"okay"／ "not
okay"
大丈夫／だめ
daijōbu／dame
Copula
Question
Particle
です
desu
か
ka
Let's look at this exchange from the dialogue:
1. アシュリー:このデビットカード大丈夫ですか。
Ashurī: Kono debitto kādo wa daijōbu desu ka?
Ashley:"Can I use this debit card?" (literally, "Is this debit card okay?")
2. 係員:すみません。そのカードは、駄目です。
Kakariin: Sumimasen. Sono kādo wa, dame desu.
Clerk:"I'm sorry; you can't use that credit card." (literally, "I'm sorry, that card is no
good."
Ko-so-a-do （こそあど） Words
In Lesson #3, we touched briefly on Ko-so-a-do words, which are also known as
demonstrative words. These are words that show what you are talking about. In Japanese,
there are three main categories ("this," "that," and "that over there") and one category for
questions. Let's review these categories and take a look at a new set of Ko-so-a-do words.
The prefix tells us a location:
Prefix
こ
ko
そ
so
Location
here, near
あ
a
there, at a distance
ど
do
(not location but
question marker)
there, not far off
Examples:
Japanese
これ
kore
それ
sore
あれ
English
this
that
that (over there)
are
どれ
dore
which
Examples:
1. これは日本茶です。
Kore wa Nihoncha desu.
"This is Japanese tea."
2. それは紅茶です。
Sore wa kōcha desu.
"That's black tea."
The following words also mean "this" and "that" but must be followed by a noun.
Japanese
この (noun)
kono (noun)
その (noun)
sono (noun)
あの (noun)
ano (noun)
どの (noun)
dono (noun)
English
this (noun)
that (noun)
that (noun) over
there
which (noun)
Examples:
1. このコーヒーは熱いです。
Kono kohī wa atsui desu.
"This coffee is hot."
2. そのカードはだめです。
Sono kādo wa dame desu.
"You can't use that card."
In the Appendix
In this lesson, we introduced the counter words for flat objects (mai, 枚), and people (mei,
名). For more detailed information on these and other counters, please check the following
Appendix lesson: Counters (Appendix #7).
Using Money in Japan
The monetary unit for Japan is yen, known as en (円) in Japanese. Throughout Japan you
will see both the international symbol for yen (￥) as well as the kanji for en (円). Japanese
coins come in denominations of 1 yen, 5 yen, 10 yen, 50 yen, 100 yen, and 500 yen. Paper
bills come in denominations of 1,000 yen, 5,000 yen, and 10,000 yen (2,000 yen bills are
rare but do exist). Japan is still very much a cash-based society, which means you will not
be able to use your credit card everywhere, and there will be even fewer places that will take
a debit card. In major stores you shouldn't have any problem using a credit card, but make
sure that you always have cash on hand just in case. Don't hesitate to ask if you can use a
credit or debit card using the phrases from this lesson!