Review: Making It Work (2)

This is a review lesson integrating the skills learned in Chapters III and IV (Units 12–21). You will practice transportation, shopping, and daily interaction scenarios by acting out conversations with your instructor. The goal is to combine everything you have learned so far into fluid, natural exchanges.

Review Dialogues

Transportation Review (Units 12–16)

Practice these common transportation scenarios:

Scenario	Key Expressions
Buying a train ticket	Sumimasen. Shinjuku made ikura desu ka? / Kippu o katte kudasaimasen ka?
Asking if a train stops at your station	Kono densha wa Shinjuku ni tomarimasu ka?
Asking how many stops	Ginza yon-choome made ikutsu desu ka?
Asking someone to alert you at your stop	Ueno ni tsuitara oshiete kudasai.
Finding a building	Nikkatsu Hoteru wa dore desu ka?
Confirming you’re at the right station	Koko wa Toranomon desu ka?
Asking for the right exit	Kabuki-za wa dono deguchi desu ka?
Asking for a direct line	Nihonbashi made chokusetsu no sen wa arimasu ka?
Telling a taxi driver your destination	Amerika Taishikan made onegai shimasu.
Stopping a taxi at a landmark	Mitsukoshi no iriguchi de tomete kudasai.

Shopping Review (Units 17–19)

Practice these shopping dialogues:

Finding merchandise:

Romaji	English
Sumimasen. Fujin-fuku wa nan-gai desu ka?	Excuse me. What floor is women’s clothing on?
San-gai de gozaimasu.	It’s on the 3rd floor.
Seetaa-uriba wa doko desu ka?	Where is the sweater section?
Kochira no migi no hoo de gozaimasu.	It’s on the right side here.

Asking for service:

Romaji	English
Sono seetaa o misete kudasai.	Please show me that sweater.
Moo sukoshi ookii no wa arimasen ka?	Do you have a slightly larger one?
Chigau iro no wa arimasu ka?	Do you have it in a different color?
Ainiku desu ga, kono katachi wa kono iro dake desu.	I’m sorry, this style comes only in this color.

Making a purchase or declining:

Romaji	English
Kore wa ikura desu ka?	How much is this?
Sanzen-gohyaku-en desu.	It’s 3,500 yen.
Jaa, kore o kudasai.	I’ll take this.
Jaa, kekkoo desu. Mata kimasu.	That’s OK. I’ll come again.

Daily Greetings Review (Units 20–21)

Situation	You Say
Morning, cold weather	Ohayoo gozaimasu. Samui desu ne.
Afternoon, nice day	Konnichiwa. Ii otenki desu ne.
Evening, nasty weather	Konbanwa. Iya na otenki desu ne.
Neighbor asks where you’re going	Ee, chotto.
Neighbor asks if you’re going home	Ee.
Leaving home	Itte mairimasu.
Returning home	Tadaima.

Cumulative Vocabulary Review

Transportation (Units 12–16)

Romaji	English
kippu	ticket
densha	train
eki	station
chikatetsu	subway
basu	bus
takushii	taxi
deguchi	exit
iriguchi	entrance
noriba	platform, bus stop
Shinkansen	bullet train
kyuukoo	express train
tomarimasu	to stop
tsuitara	when (you) arrive
oshiete kudasai	please tell me
chokusetsu	direct
tomete kudasai	please stop

Shopping (Units 17–19)

Romaji	English
nan-gai	what floor?
kai	floor (counter)
uriba	sales counter/section
misete kudasai	please show me
ikura	how much?
kudasai	please give me
ookii	large
chiisai	small
yasui	cheap
chigau	different
iro	color
saizu	size
katachi	style, shape
kekkoo desu	that’s fine / no thanks
mata kimasu	I’ll come again
otsuri	change (money)
zenbu de	altogether
guramu	gram
kiro	kilogram

Daily Life (Units 20–21)

Romaji	English
otenki	weather
atsui	hot
samui	cold
atatakai	warm
suzushii	cool
iya (na)	unpleasant
hontoo ni	truly
tadaima	I’m home
okaeri nasai	welcome home
itte mairimasu	I’m going out
itte (i)rasshai	go safely
oyasumi nasai	good night
gomen kudasai	excuse me / goodbye

Practice Scenarios

Work through each scenario with your instructor. Try to use the expressions you have learned as naturally as possible.

Transportation Scenarios

1. You want to go to Shinjuku but don’t know where to buy tickets. Ask a Japanese person.
2. You want to know if the train at the platform stops at Shinjuku.
3. Ask a Japanese person to buy a ticket for you because you can’t read the machines.
4. You need to find out which train to take to get to Kanda.
5. You want to get off at Ginza 3-choome but are afraid you’ll miss it. Ask someone to let you know.
6. You’re looking for the Nikkatsu Hotel. Ask which building it is.
7. Ask which exit to take for the Kabuki Theater.
8. Ask a taxi driver to take you to the US Embassy.
9. Tell the taxi driver to stop at the entrance to Mitsukoshi department store.
10. Ask if there is a direct line to Nihonbashi.

Shopping Scenarios

11. Ask the information desk which floor women’s sweaters are on.
12. You get a headache while shopping. Find the drug counter and buy some aspirin.
13. Ask a sales clerk to show you a sweater.
14. A salesperson asks if you’re looking for something. Tell them you’re just browsing.
15. You saw a white sweater but want to know if they have a red one in the same style.
16. You’ve tried on shoes that are too small. Ask for one size larger.
17. Point out a camera to the clerk. He shows you the wrong one (above). Tell him the one below.
18. You were shown a necktie for 7,000 yen — too expensive. Ask to see a cheaper one.
19. You’ve looked around but decided not to buy anything. Give the proper greeting and leave.
20. At the fish store, buy three of the fish you want.
21. Buy 400g of sukiyaki beef that sells for 800 yen per 100g.
22. Buy 2kg of tangerines at 750 yen per kg.
23. You paid 1,000 yen for a 750-yen purchase but received only 150 yen change. Correct this.
24. You’ve bought two or three items and want to know the total.

Daily Greeting Scenarios

25. Greet an acquaintance on a rainy, sultry afternoon.
26. Greet a neighbor on a cold winter evening.
27. Ask today’s date.
28. Someone asks you a question you can’t answer — say you don’t know.
29. You can’t think of the right word — what do you say?

Mixed Review

30. Ask how much a Shinkansen ticket to Kyoto costs.
31. Ask for directions to the South Exit.
32. Tell a sales clerk to give you five of these.
33. Ask if there is a different color available.
34. Ask a sales clerk to show you some merchandise.
35. Reply to a Japanese neighbor who says “Dokoka e odekake desu ka?”