Japanese · Upper intermediate (B2) · Chapter 12 of 12
Final review
久しぶりの再会Hisashiburi no saikai
Review B2 in one long conversation: catching up with an old friend, then switching to keigo for a work call; summing up with つまり, 要するに and 結局.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Switch smoothly between casual speech and keigo
- Talk about regrets and what might have been
- Sum up with つまり, 要するに and 結局
- React naturally with 相変わらず, 今さら and お互い様
Listen
In a Tokyo izakaya, university friends Takahashi Mika and Endo Soichi meet after ten years; in the middle, she takes a work call from a client. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Soichi
美香、久しぶり。相変わらず元気そうだね。
Mika, hisashiburi. Aikawarazu genki sō da ne.
Mika, it's been ages. You look as well as ever.
Mika
遠藤くんこそ。卒業以来だから、もう十年だね。同窓会にも来なかったし。とりあえず乾杯しよう。
Endō-kun koso. Sotsugyō irai da kara, mō jūnen da ne. Dōsōkai ni mo konakatta shi. Toriaezu kanpai shiyō.
So do you. We haven't seen each other since graduation, so it's been ten years. You didn't even come to the reunion. Anyway, let's have a toast first.
Soichi
乾杯。いや、同窓会のときは、ちょうど転職したばかりで忙しくてさ。
Kanpai. Iya, dōsōkai no toki wa, chōdo tenshoku shita bakari de isogashikute sa.
Cheers. Well, at the time of the reunion I'd just changed jobs, and I was really busy.
Mika
え、転職したの？近況、聞かせてよ。
E, tenshoku shita no? Kinkyō, kikasete yo.
What, you changed jobs? Tell me what you've been up to.
Soichi
実はそのあと、三年前に会社を辞めて、友達と起業したんだ。正直、最初はお金がなくて大変だったよ。もっと準備しとけばよかったって、何度も思った。
Jitsu wa sono ato, sannen mae ni kaisha o yamete, tomodachi to kigyō shita n da. Shōjiki, saisho wa okane ga nakute taihen datta yo. Motto junbi shitokeba yokatta tte, nando mo omotta.
Actually, after that, three years ago, I left the company and started a business with a friend. Honestly, at first we had no money and it was tough. I kept thinking I should have prepared more.
Mika
すごいじゃん、思い切ったね。私なんて、あのとき留学していれば人生変わってたかなって、今さら考えちゃう。
Sugoi jan, omoikitta ne. Watashi nante, ano toki ryūgaku shite ireba jinsei kawatteta ka na tte, imasara kangaechau.
That's amazing. You really took the plunge. As for me, even now I catch myself wondering if my life would have been different if I'd studied abroad back then.
Soichi
今さら？美香なら、今からでもできるでしょ。要するに、やるかやらないかだよ。
Imasara? Mika nara, ima kara demo dekiru desho. Yō suru ni, yaru ka yaranai ka da yo.
Even now? You could still do it, Mika. In short, it's just a question of whether you do it or not.
Mika
あ、ごめん、お客さんから電話だ。ちょっと出るね。…はい、高橋でございます。いつも大変お世話になっております。
A, gomen, okyakusan kara denwa da. Chotto deru ne. Hai, Takahashi de gozaimasu. Itsumo taihen osewa ni natte orimasu.
Oh, sorry, it's a client calling. I'll just take it. … Hello, Takahashi speaking. Thank you, as always, for your support.
Mika
明日のお打ち合わせの件ですね。…大変失礼いたしました。私の確認不足でした。恐縮ですが、十時にお伺いしてもよろしいでしょうか。…かしこまりました。失礼いたします。
Ashita no ouchiawase no ken desu ne. Taihen shitsurei itashimashita. Watashi no kakunin busoku deshita. Kyōshuku desu ga, jūji ni oukagai shite mo yoroshii deshō ka. Kashikomarimashita. Shitsurei itashimasu.
It's about tomorrow's meeting, isn't it? … I do apologise. That was an oversight on my part. I'm sorry to ask, but would it be all right if I came to see you at ten? … Certainly. Goodbye.
Soichi
すごい、声まで変わってたよ。さっきと別人じゃん。
Sugoi, koe made kawatteta yo. Sakki to betsujin jan.
Wow, even your voice changed. You were a completely different person.
Mika
仕事だからね。結局、打ち合わせの時間を私が間違えてたの。でも、遠藤くんだって、お客さんの前では敬語でしょ。お互い様だよ。
Shigoto da kara ne. Kekkyoku, uchiawase no jikan o watashi ga machigaeteta no. Demo, Endō-kun datte, okyakusan no mae de wa keigo desho. Otagaisama da yo.
It's work. It turned out I'd got the meeting time wrong. But you use keigo in front of your clients too, don't you? We're the same.
Soichi
まあね。つまり、俺たち、十年でちゃんと大人になったってことか。じゃあ、もう一回乾杯しよう。
Mā ne. Tsumari, oretachi, jūnen de chanto otona ni natta tte koto ka. Jā, mō ikkai kanpai shiyō.
I suppose so. So what you're saying is, in ten years we've both properly grown up. Then let's have another toast.
Understand
Switching register
Japanese speakers switch register all the time, sometimes within a minute, as Mika does. With friends: plain forms, contractions and (jan). With colleagues: です／ます. With clients: honorific language for them, humble language for yourself, and set phrases. Even the voice changes: many people speak higher and more carefully on a business call.
| Meaning | Friends | Colleagues | Clients |
|---|---|---|---|
| sorry | (gomen) | (sumimasen) | (taihen shitsurei itashimashita) |
| I understand | (wakatta) | (wakarimashita) | (kashikomarimashita) |
| may I come at ten? | (Jūji ni itte mo ii?) | (Jūji ni itte mo ii desu ka.) | (Jūji ni oukagai shite mo yoroshii deshō ka.) |
| I'll call later | (Ato de denwa suru ne.) | (Ato de denwa shimasu.) | (Nochihodo odenwa itashimasu.) |
Summing up and reacting
(tsumari), in other words, restates what has been said; (yō suru ni), in short, boils it down, sometimes a little bluntly; (kekkyoku), in the end, gives the final outcome: (kekkyoku, jikan o machigaeteta no), in the end, it turned out I'd got the time wrong.
(aikawarazu), as ever, is a warm thing to say to an old friend: (aikawarazu genki sō da ne), you look as well as ever. (imasara), now, after all this time, suggests it's late: (imasara itte mo osoi), it's too late to say that now. (otagaisama) means “we're in the same boat” or “it works both ways”.
B2 in one conversation
Here is some of the B2 language Mika and Soichi use. If anything feels unfamiliar, go back to the chapter it comes from.
| Pattern | From the conversation |
|---|---|
| regret with ～ておけばよかった (-te okeba yokatta), chapter 7 | (motto junbi shitokeba yokatta) |
| unreal past with ～ていれば (-te ireba), chapter 5 | (ryūgaku shite ireba jinsei kawatteta ka na) |
| spoken shortcuts, chapter 8 | (shitokeba), (kawatteta), (kangaechau) |
| humble keigo, chapter 2 | (oukagai shite mo yoroshii deshō ka) |
| emphasis with こそ (koso), chapter 11 | (Endō-kun koso), you too, more than me |
New words
- 久しぶりhisashiburilong time no see; for the first time in a long time · ひさしぶり; polite: (ohisashiburi desu)
- 相変わらずaikawarazuas ever, as always · あいかわらず
- 同窓会dōsōkai(school or university) reunion · どうそうかい; (sotsugyō irai), since graduation
- 乾杯kanpaicheers; a toast · かんぱい
- 転職tenshokuchanging jobs · てんしょく; (tenshoku suru)
- 近況kinkyōrecent news, how someone is doing · きんきょう
- 起業kigyōstarting a business · きぎょう; (kigyō suru); (kaisha o yameru), to leave a company
- 正直shōjikihonestly, to be honest · しょうじき; (shōjiki ni iu to), to be honest
- 思い切るomoikiruto take the plunge, to make a bold decision · おもいきる; (omoikitte), boldly
- 今さらimasaranow (after all this time), too late · いまさら
- 要するにyō suru niin short, basically · ようするに
- 大変失礼いたしましたtaihen shitsurei itashimashitaI do apologise (keigo) · たいへんしつれいいたしました
- 恐縮kyōshukufeeling obliged, sorry to trouble you · きょうしゅく; (kyōshuku desu ga), I'm sorry to ask, but; a business meeting is an (uchiawase)
- お互い様otagaisamawe're in the same boat, it works both ways · おたがいさま
Practise
1.On the phone, a client points out a mistake you made. What do you say?
2.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.I should have prepared more.
3.Match the Japanese with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
4.Soichi says (yō suru ni, yaru ka yaranai ka da yo). What does (yō suru ni) mean?
5.Which is the right way to ask a client “May I come and see you at ten?”
6.Mika explains what had gone wrong with the meeting. Which word introduces how things finally turned out?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
久しぶり。相変わらず元気そうだね。
Hisashiburi. Aikawarazu genki sō da ne.
Long time no see. You look as well as ever.
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.