Japanese · Intermediate (B1) · Chapter 3 of 12
News and current events
今日のニュースKyō no nyūsu
Understand simple news in Japanese: the passive (建てられる, 選ばれる), hearsay with ～そうだ and ～らしい, ～によると and ～かどうか.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Understand and make passive sentences like “it was chosen”
- Pass on news with ～そうだ, ～らしい and ～によると
- Report what someone said or announced
- Say you don't know whether something is true with ～かどうか
Listen
Over breakfast in Hiroshima, Okubo Makoto reads the news on his tablet to his wife Yoko. They speak casually. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Makoto
へー、広島が、外国人に人気の町の一位に選ばれたそうだよ。
Hē, Hiroshima ga, gaikokujin ni ninki no machi no ichii ni erabareta sō da yo.
Well, well. It says Hiroshima was chosen as the most popular town with foreigners.
Yoko
本当？誰が選んだの？
Hontō? Dare ga eranda no?
Really? Who chose it?
Makoto
アメリカの旅行会社が調査したらしいよ。
Amerika no ryokō gaisha ga chōsa shita rashii yo.
Apparently an American travel company did a survey.
Yoko
だから最近、観光客が多いのね。
Dakara saikin, kankōkyaku ga ōi no ne.
So that's why there are so many tourists lately.
Makoto
うん。市の発表によると、今年は去年より観光客が二十パーセント増えたそうだ。
Un. Shi no happyō ni yoru to, kotoshi wa kyonen yori kankōkyaku ga nijuppāsento fueta sō da.
Yes. According to the city's announcement, tourist numbers are up twenty percent on last year.
Yoko
すごいわね。ほかのニュースは？
Sugoi wa ne. Hoka no nyūsu wa?
That's a lot. What other news is there?
Makoto
昨日の夜、駅の近くで車の事故があったらしい。運転していた人は大丈夫だったそうだけど。
Kinō no yoru, eki no chikaku de kuruma no jiko ga atta rashii. Unten shite ita hito wa daijōbu datta sō da kedo.
There was a car accident near the station last night, apparently. The driver was all right, it says.
Yoko
よかった。原因は？
Yokatta. Gen'in wa?
Thank goodness. What caused it?
Makoto
原因が雨だったかどうか、まだわからないそうだ。
Gen'in ga ame datta ka dō ka, mada wakaranai sō da.
They still don't know whether the rain was the cause.
Yoko
昨日の夜は雨がひどかったからね。
Kinō no yoru wa ame ga hidokatta kara ne.
Well, the rain was terrible last night.
Makoto
それから、この記事によると、駅前に新しいホテルが建てられるらしい。一階には有名なパン屋が新しくオープンするそうだよ。
Sorekara, kono kiji ni yoru to, ekimae ni atarashii hoteru ga taterareru rashii. Ikkai ni wa yūmei na pan'ya ga atarashiku ōpun suru sō da yo.
And according to this article, a new hotel is going to be built in front of the station. It says a famous bakery will open on the ground floor.
Yoko
いいわね。でも、駅前の古いお店は、お客さんが減るんじゃないかな。
Ii wa ne. Demo, ekimae no furui omise wa, okyakusan ga heru n ja nai ka na.
Sounds nice. But I suspect the old shops by the station will lose customers.
Understand
The passive: 建てられる, 選ばれる
The passive makes the thing or person that something happens to into the subject: (hoteru ga taterareru), a hotel is (going to be) built. News uses it a lot, because who did it often doesn't matter. The person who does the action takes (ni): (Hiroshima wa gaikokujin ni erabareta), Hiroshima was chosen by foreigners.
Ru-verbs add (rareru) to the stem. U-verbs change the last sound to the a-row and add (reru); verbs ending in (u) change it to (wa). The passive itself is a ru-verb: (erabareta), (erabaremasu). For ru-verbs it looks the same as the potential form: context tells you which it is.
| Verb | Passive | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (tateru), build | (taterareru) | (hoteru ga taterareru), a hotel is built |
| (erabu), choose | (erabareru) | (ichii ni erabareta), was chosen as number one |
| (iu), say | (iwareru) | (sensei ni iwareta), I was told by the teacher |
| (happyō suru), announce | (happyō sareru) | (kekka ga happyō sareta), the results were announced |
| (kuru), come | (korareru) | used in the “suffering” passive (chapter 11) |
I hear: ～そうだ, ～らしい, ～によると
To pass on something you have heard or read, add (sō da) to a plain form: (kankōkyaku ga fueta sō da), I hear the number of tourists has gone up. After a noun or a な-adjective, add first: (ame da sō da). Politely: (sō desu).
(rashii) also means “apparently”, but it is less direct: you are passing on something you are not completely sure of. After a noun or a な-adjective, it comes straight after the word, with no : (ame rashii).
The source goes before (ni yoru to), according to: (nyūsu ni yoru to), according to the news. The sentence usually ends with or .
- ニュースによると、明日は雪が降るそうです。Nyūsu ni yoru to, ashita wa yuki ga furu sō desu.According to the news, it's going to snow tomorrow.
- あの店は来月閉まるらしい。Ano mise wa raigetsu shimaru rashii.Apparently that shop is closing next month.
- 山田さんのお父さんは医者だそうです。Yamada-san no otōsan wa isha da sō desu.I hear Mr Yamada's father is a doctor.
Reporting and “whether”: ～と言った, ～と発表した, ～かどうか
To report what someone said, put (to) after the plain form and then the verb: (shi wa kankōkyaku ga fueta to happyō shita), the city announced that tourist numbers had gone up. (to itta) is “said that”.
～かどうか (ka dō ka) after a plain form means “whether (or not)”: (gen'in ga ame datta ka dō ka, wakaranai), they don't know whether the rain was the cause. With a question word, use just : (itsu ōpun suru ka, wakaranai), I don't know when it opens. After a noun or a な-adjective in the present, leave out : (hontō ka dō ka), whether it's true.
- 駅長は、電車は十時に動くと言いました。Ekichō wa, densha wa jūji ni ugoku to iimashita.The station master said the trains would run again at ten.
- 本当かどうか、わかりません。Hontō ka dō ka, wakarimasen.I don't know whether it's true.
More in the grammar: Seems and hearsay: ～そう, ～よう, ～らしい · The passive
New words
- 選ばれるerabareruto be chosen · えらばれる; the passive of (erabu), to choose; (ninki), popularity; (ichii), first place
- 調査chōsasurvey, investigation · ちょうさ; (chōsa suru), to survey, to investigate
- 観光客kankōkyakutourist · かんこうきゃく; (saikin), lately
- 市shicity (as a local authority) · し; (Hiroshima-shi), Hiroshima City
- 発表happyōannouncement · はっぴょう; (happyō suru), to announce
- ～によるとni yoru toaccording to … · (nyūsu ni yoru to), according to the news
- 増えるfueruto increase, to go up · ふえる
- ニュースnyūsunews
- 事故jikoaccident · じこ; (jiko ga atta), there was an accident; (unten suru), to drive
- 原因gen'incause · げんいん; (ame ga hidoi), the rain is terrible
- 記事kijiarticle (in a newspaper, online) · きじ
- 建てるtateruto build · たてる; passive (taterareru), to be built
- 新しくオープンするatarashiku ōpun suruto open (a new shop, hotel…) · あたらしくオープンする; (yūmei na pan'ya), a famous bakery
- 減るheruto decrease, to go down · へる; the opposite of (fueru)
Practise
1.What is the passive of (erabu), to choose?
2.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.According to the news, it's going to snow tomorrow.
3.Match the Japanese with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
4.Makoto says (ekimae ni atarashii hoteru ga taterareru rashii). What does he mean?
5.How do you say “I don't know whether it's true”?
6.How do you report “The city announced that tourist numbers had gone up”?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
ニュースによると、電車が止まっているそうです。
Nyūsu ni yoru to, densha ga tomatte iru sō desu.
According to the news, the trains have stopped.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.