それって、「ウィー･フィー」じゃないの？

Isn't that "ウィー・フィー"?

I am not a computer person. I do not know technical terms. When I went to Best Buy with my husband, he and a Best Buy guy were talking about "Wi Fi." I thought it was "ウィー・フィー". They laught at me! You know what, I just googled and found out that other Japanes people read it ウィー・フィー too! I am not alone!


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なんだったっけ？

"What was that?"

I was driving and there was a big truck in front of me. The truck was dropping small rocks! They could break my windshield! In the morning, I just watched a commercial of windshield repairing company, but I could not remember the name. That is why I said this phrase.

っけ sounds like "I know it, but I cannot remember it. What was that!" It sounds very conversational.

Polite form: なんでしたっけ？
But use the phrase below if you are supposed to be more polite: なんでしたか？

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寒くなってきたね

"It's getting chilly!"
「さむくなってきたね」

It is getting cold in Kansas City. When I was heading for the office from the parking lot, I saw some people smoking. So I said that to them.

The polite form is 寒くなってきましたね. ね sounds conversational. So for more formal speech, use 寒くなってきました.


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仕事、決まったのね！

"You got the job!"
「しごと、きまったのね！」

My friend got laid off. She was lookign for a job and took an interview last week. I met her today. So I asked her about the interview.
"I will start the job tomorrow."
So that's why I said this phrase.

You know it is hard to say "this is the polite form" sometimes. You can trasnlate it to many different ways. Here are the examples.

仕事が決まったのですね。（しごとがきまったのですね。）(A little sounds written to me though. Like a phrase in a drama script. Japanese written language is a little different from spoken language. So when people write a conversation, there is a gap. I think that is why it sounds a little strange sometimes.)

仕事が決まったんですね。（しごとがきまったんですね。）(It is more natural to me.)

You hear the word "polite form" in Japanese. You know what decide whether it is a polite form or plain form? It is the verb. Verbs tell you the relationship between a speaker and a listner, man or woman, public speech or private speech or many other aspects.

Okay, I am a woman. I speak like a woman. 仕事、決まったのね！sounds feminine. 仕事、決まったんだ！ is acceptable for both a man and a woman, I think.

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そしたら、車、押さなくてもいいでしょ

"So we don't have to push the car"
「そしたら、くるま、おさなくてもいいでしょ」

Maybe you are wondering what I am talking about. Okay, my car's reverse does not work very well. Maybe it is impossible for some people to believe that such cars exist in 21st century. But they do! You just need to be careful to choose the street and a parking lot. Yesterday, my husband and I went to a Blockbuster store. I wanted to park in a big parking lot instead of the small one in front of the Blockbusters. I am glad my husband listened to me! (Sometimes he doesn't.) It is not cool to push your car and to see people are laughing at you!

The polite form of this is そうしたら、車を押さなくてもいいですよね（そうしたら、くるまをおさなくてもいいですよね）. I should explain this more. そしたら is more casual than そうしたら, but you can hear it all the time. In the polite form, I added を after くるま or "a car." 押さなくてもいい（おさなくてもいい） is "not necessary to push." I wrote about なくてもいい in my book "Speak Like Native Speakers Japanese Verb Conjugation I":

"Nakutemo ii expresses that the action is not necessary, and literally means 'it's ok if you don't'" (158).

でしょ is more casual than ですよね which sounds like "is that right?" or "don't you think so?" Don't use でしょ if you are talking to somebody you don't know very well, or older than you. It is rude. And I should say that でしょ sounds a little feminine. If you are a man talking to your close friend, use だろ. So it would be そしたら、車、押さなくてもいいだろ？ That sounds a man to me.


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お腹すいた～！

"I'm hungry!"
「おなかすいた～！」

I say this every day, wheh I leave my office. Usually I am starving!

The polite form is お腹がすきました（おなかがすきました）


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だと思った

"That's what I thought"
「だとおもった」

My friend has two brothers and one sister. I thought her sister was the youngest, but she sounded like the younger brother was the youngest. So I said "I thought your sister was the youngest one." Then she said, "Me, Brother 1, Brother 2, and Sister." Year, that's what I thought.

The polite form (or full expression) for だと思った is 「そうだと思いました（そうだとおもいました）」. That sounds more polite.



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