Today I’ll try my best at translating the conversation found in the second edition Genki 1 Workbook on pg 97, chapter 10 exercise 7B.
You’ll find the Japanese transcript in the Genki Answer key book on pg 70, section W10-B
I hope you’ll follow along with me!
Summary: Naomi is asking her Japanese teacher, Kiyoshi, various questions about 3 perspective Universities (Hanaoka, Sakura, & Tsushima)
ナオミ (Naomi): Between the 3 universities, which is the biggest?
教師 (きょうし): Hanaoka University is the biggest. That’s why its famous. Sakura and Tsushima University are both not very big.
ナオミ: So, how much is tuition?
教師: I think Hanaoka for one year is about 800,000, Tsushima about 1,500,000, Sakura about 500,000.
ナオミ: Sakura is the cheapest. Between Sakura and Hanaoka which is the closest from (to) here?
教師: Sakura and Hanaoka are both the furthest. By train and bus, it takes about 2 hours. Tsushima is the closest because by bus, it takes about 30 mins.
ナオミ: So, how are the Japanese classes?
教師: Sakura and Tsushima have (offer) Japanese classes but Hanaoka doesn’t have (offer) a Japanese class
ナオミ: That’s too bad because I intend to study Japanese in college. Between Sakura and Tsushima which one has a good (better) Japanese class?
教師: I think Tsushima is the best because Tsushima’s Japanese language Teacher is very famous.
ナオミ: Is that so? Thank you, teacher
Grammar That Confused Me
Grammar 1: The usage of も below, is different from the examples in the Genki book (pg 65) where only 1 も is used in a sentence.
さくら大学も津島大学もあまり大きくないですね
さくらも花岡も遠いですよう
Seeing it this way confused me but after some research I learned more about this construction.
A book I highly recommend to help with understanding Japanese particles is All About Particles by Naoko Chino (ISBN 9781568364193) (Not an affiliate link)
Grammar 1 Clarity: When も is used this way it can mean “and, as well as, both”
Grammar 2: When asking a comparison question, do you have to include の after どちら but you don’t need to include ほう after it?
さくらと津島とどちらの日本語の句クラスがいいですか
No Grammar 2 Clarity Yet
Your Turn
Do you have any questions about this story, if so drop it in the comment section so we can help each other out!
And if you know the answer to my Grammar 2 question, please share so I can gain some clarity!