Japanese · Intermediate (B1) · Chapter 1 of 12
Stories and memories
思い出話Omoidebanashi
Tell a story about the past in Japanese: ～とき (when), ～前に and ～た後で, ～ていた for the background, and words like first, then and in the end.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Tell a story about your past in order
- Say when something happened with ～とき, ～前に and ～た後で
- Set the scene with ～ていた and say what had just happened with ～たばかり
- Ask someone if they remember something
Listen
In Kyoto, Kenta, 24, asks his grandmother Fumiko about her first years running the family sweet shop. They speak casually. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Kenta
おばあちゃん、この店はいつ始めたの？
Obāchan, kono mise wa itsu hajimeta no?
Grandma, when did you start this shop?
Fumiko
昔の話よ。五十年前、おじいちゃんと結婚したばかりのころ。
Mukashi no hanashi yo. Gojūnen mae, ojiichan to kekkon shita bakari no koro.
That's an old story. Fifty years ago, just after I'd married your grandpa.
Kenta
おばあちゃんは京都で生まれたんだよね？
Obāchan wa Kyōto de umareta n da yo ne?
You were born in Kyoto, weren't you?
Fumiko
違うわよ。金沢で生まれて、二十歳のときに京都に引っ越したの。
Chigau wa yo. Kanazawa de umarete, hatachi no toki ni Kyōto ni hikkoshita no.
No, I was born in Kanazawa. I moved to Kyoto when I was twenty.
Kenta
店を始める前は、何をしていたの？
Mise o hajimeru mae wa, nani o shite ita no?
What were you doing before you started the shop?
Fumiko
デパートで着物を売っていたの。結婚した後で、おじいちゃんの仕事を手伝って、二人でこの店を始めたのよ。
Depāto de kimono o utte ita no. Kekkon shita ato de, ojiichan no shigoto o tetsudatte, futari de kono mise o hajimeta no yo.
I was selling kimonos in a department store. After we married, I helped Grandpa with his work, and the two of us started this shop.
Kenta
初めてお客さんが来た日のこと、覚えている？
Hajimete okyakusan ga kita hi no koto, oboete iru?
Do you remember the day your first customer came?
Fumiko
もちろん。朝四時に起きて、まずおじいちゃんとお菓子を百個作ったの。それから着物を着て、店の前で待っていたわ。
Mochiron. Asa yoji ni okite, mazu ojiichan to okashi o hyakko tsukutta no. Sorekara kimono o kite, mise no mae de matte ita wa.
Of course. I got up at four in the morning, and first Grandpa and I made a hundred sweets. Then I put on a kimono and waited in front of the shop.
Kenta
お客さんはたくさん来た？
Okyakusan wa takusan kita?
Did lots of customers come?
Fumiko
それが、全然。そのころ、この辺はまだ静かだったの。昼ご飯を食べた後で、やっと一人来たのよ。
Sore ga, zenzen. Sono koro, kono hen wa mada shizuka datta no. Hirugohan o tabeta ato de, yatto hitori kita no yo.
Well, not at all. Back then this area was still quiet. After lunch, one person finally came.
Kenta
結局、その日はいくつ売れたの？
Kekkyoku, sono hi wa ikutsu ureta no?
So in the end, how many did you sell that day?
Fumiko
十個だけ。最後に、おじいちゃんと二人で残ったお菓子を食べたの。懐かしいわね。
Jukko dake. Saigo ni, ojiichan to futari de nokotta okashi o tabeta no. Natsukashii wa ne.
Only ten. At the end of the day, Grandpa and I ate the sweets that were left. That brings back memories.
Understand
When, before and after: ～とき, ～前に, ～た後で
(toki) means “when” or “the time when”. It follows a noun + (no), an adjective, or a verb in the plain form: (kodomo no toki), when I was a child; (hatachi no toki), when I was twenty (, hatachi, is the special word for “twenty years old”).
With a verb, the tense before shows the order of the two events, not when the whole story happened. (Nihon ni iku toki) is “when I was going to Japan”, before arriving; (Nihon ni itta toki) is “when I went to Japan”, once I was there.
(mae ni), before, always takes the dictionary form, even in a story about the past. (ato de), after, always takes the た-form.
| Japanese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| (kodomo no toki) | when I was a child |
| (Nihon ni iku toki, kamera o katta.) | I bought a camera before going to Japan (for the trip). |
| (Nihon ni itta toki, kamera o katta.) | I bought a camera when I was in Japan. |
| (mise o hajimeru mae ni) | before starting the shop |
| (kekkon shita ato de) | after getting married |
Setting the scene: ～ていた and ～たばかり
Japanese has no separate tense for “had done”. The order of events comes from the context, from and , and from ～ていた (-te ita), the past of ～ている.
～ていた describes what was going on, or what state things were in, at that point in the story. It sets the scene: (depāto de kimono o utte ita), I was selling kimonos in a department store. With verbs like (kekkon suru) it describes a state that had already begun: (sono koro wa mō kekkon shite ita), by then I was already married. This is how Japanese says “had done”.
～たばかり (-ta bakari) after the た-form means “have just done”. It works like a noun: (kekkon shita bakari datta), we had just married; (kekkon shita bakari no koro), the time just after we married.
- 私が起きたとき、母はもう出かけていた。Watashi ga okita toki, haha wa mō dekakete ita.When I got up, my mother had already gone out.
- 日本に来たばかりのころは、日本語が全然わからなかった。Nihon ni kita bakari no koro wa, Nihongo ga zenzen wakaranakatta.When I had just come to Japan, I didn't understand any Japanese.
- 今、昼ご飯を食べたばかりです。Ima, hirugohan o tabeta bakari desu.I've just had lunch.
First, then, in the end
These words put the events of a story in order. (kekkyoku) sums up how things turned out, often not the way you had hoped. (saigo ni) is the last step in a series, like “finally” or “last of all”.
To say “I remember”, use (oboete iru), the ～ている form of (oboeru, to learn by heart). (oboete iru?) is “do you remember?”, and (oboete inai) is “I don't remember”. ～のこと (no koto) makes it “about”: (ano hi no koto), that day and what happened.
| Japanese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| (mazu) | first |
| (sorekara) | then, and then |
| (sono ato) | after that |
| (sono koro) | at that time, back then |
| (yatto) | at last, finally (after a long wait) |
| (kekkyoku) | in the end, as it turned out |
| (saigo ni) | finally, last of all |
More in the grammar: The past tense
New words
- 始めるhajimeruto start (something) · はじめる; (mise o hajimeru), to open a shop; (mise) is the plain word for (omise)
- 昔mukashilong ago, the old days · むかし; (mukashi no hanashi), an old story
- 結婚するkekkon suruto get married · けっこんする; ～と結婚する (to kekkon suru), to marry someone
- ～たばかり-ta bakarihave just done · after the た-form: (kita bakari), just arrived
- 生まれるumareruto be born · うまれる; (Kyōto de umareta), I was born in Kyoto; (chigau), that's not right
- 引っ越すhikkosuto move (house) · ひっこす; the place you move to takes (ni)
- 着物kimonokimono · きもの; (uru), to sell: (kimono o uru); (ureru), to sell, to be sold: (jukko ureta), ten were sold
- 手伝うtetsudauto help (with work) · てつだう; (shigoto o tetsudau), to help with the work
- 覚えているoboete iruto remember · おぼえている; from (oboeru), to learn by heart
- お菓子okashisweets, cakes · おかし; traditional Japanese sweets are (wagashi)
- そのころsono koroat that time, back then · (kono hen), this area, around here
- 結局kekkyokuin the end, after all · けっきょく
- 最後にsaigo nifinally, last of all · さいごに; (nokoru), to be left over: (nokotta okashi), the sweets that were left
- 懐かしいnatsukashiibringing back fond memories · なつかしい; said about something from your past that you miss
Practise
1.You bought a camera in Japan, during your trip. Which sentence says this?
2.Fumiko is talking about her first job. Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.Back then I was selling kimonos in a department store.
3.Match the Japanese with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
4.How do you say “before starting the shop”?
5.You arrived in Japan last week. How do you tell a new colleague “I've just come to Japan”?
6.What does (kekkon shita bakari datta) mean?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
それからどうなったの？
Sorekara dō natta no?
And then what happened?
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.