Lesson 8.3
会話Dialogue 3 
やきゅう すもうほう
Yamada：野球と相撲とどっちの方がいい？
Yakyuu to sumou to docchi no hou ga ii?
Which is better, baseball or sumo?
やきゅうすもうほうでんとうてき
Emily：野球より、相撲の方がいい。 伝統的なスポーツだし。
Yakyuu yori sumou no hou ga ii. Dentouteki na supootsu da shi.
I like sumo better than baseball because it is a traditional sport and… Yamada：そうだね。せっかく日本にいるしね.
Sou da ne. Sekkaku nihon ni iru shi ne.
I agree. And you are here in Japan after all, so…
単語 Vocabulary
|
Romanized Japanese |
Hiragana |
Other Japanese scripts |
English |
|
yakyuu |
やきゅう |
野球 |
baseball |
|
docchi no hou |
どっちのほう |
|
which alternative |
|
X yori |
〜より |
|
than ~; rather than ~ |
|
yakyuu yori |
やきゅうより |
野球より |
rather than baseball |
|
dentou |
でんとう |
伝統 |
tradition |
|
＋bunka |
ぶんか |
文化 |
culture |
|
dentouteki (na) |
でんとうてき（な） |
伝統的 |
traditional |
|
supootsu |
スポーツ |
|
sports |
|
~shi |
〜し |
|
and (among other reasons) |
|
naruhodo |
なるほど |
|
See 8-3-2 I see; now I understand; |
|
sekkaku |
せっかく |
|
it makes sense with much effort; |
|
|
|
|
take the trouble to do |
Supootsu スポーツ Sports 
|
Romanized Japanese |
Japanese script(s) |
English |
|
yakyuu |
やきゅう /野球 |
baseball |
|
suiei |
すいえい /水泳 |
swimming |
|
sakkaa |
サッカー |
soccer |
|
gorufu |
ゴルフ |
golf |
|
tenisu |
テニス |
tennis |
|
futtobouru |
フットボール |
(American) football |
ぶどう
Budou 武道Traditional Martial Arts
|
Romanized Japanese |
Hiragana |
Kanji |
English |
|
kendou |
けんどう |
剣道 |
Kendo |
|
juudou |
じゅうどう |
柔道 |
Judo |
|
kyuudou |
きゅうどう |
弓道 |
Japanese archery |
|
karate |
からて |
空手 |
Karate |
|
aikidou |
あいきどう |
合気道 |
Aikido |
|
naginata |
なぎなた |
薙刀 |
spear fencing |
文法 Grammar Notes
8-3-1 Comparing Two or More Items
Earlier we learned the following patterns to compare two items:
Dochira ga ii desu ka.Which is better?
—X ga ii desu.X is better.
In this lesson we add the particle ~yori, ‘than’ and ~hou ‘this alternative of the two’. By using these, the sentences above can be restated as follows:
X to Y to dochira no houga ii desu ka.Which is better, X or Y?
—Y yori X no hou ga ii desu.X is better than Y.
When comparing more than three items you can specify the items compared by saying ‘X no naka de ‘ among X (the group)’ or listing up each member of the group like X to Y to Z no naka de ‘among X, Y, and Z’
Kono naka de dore ga ichiban ii desu ka.Among these, which is the best.
X to Y to Z no naka de dore ga ichiban ii desu ka.
Which is the best among X, Y, and Z?
—X ga ichiban ii desu.X is the best.
8-3-2 Sentence + shi
Shi added to the end of a sentence means “and” and indicates that it’s one factor or one reason among others that leads to the conclusion under discussion.
Ame da shi.Because it’s raining, and… (so, I’m not going)
You can link more than two sentences using shi. The last sentence in the sequence can be either another reason or the conclusion. When asked about a restaurant for example, you may link three characteristics or two characteristics and a conclusion as follows.
Oishii shi, yasui shi, kirei desu yo.
The food is good, and it’s cheap and it’s clean.
Oishii shi, yasui shi, daisuki desu yo.
The food is good, and it’s cheap, so I like it a lot.
Since shi implies there are other reasons, it is often used to make a sentence sound inconclusive, thus polite in some cases, even when it is actually the only reason. You may notice younger speakers use shi–ending sentences a lot for this reason.
Drills and Exercises 
A.
Cue: 野球と相撲とどっちの方がいい？
Which do you like better, baseball or Sumo?
Response: 野球より、相撲のほうがいい。I like Sumo better than baseball.
Cue: うどんとラーメンとどっちの方がいい？
Which do you like better, Udon or Ramen?
Response: うどんより、ラーメンの方がいい。I like Ramen better than Udon.
B.
Cue: 伝統的ですね。It’s traditional, isn’t it?
Response: ええ、伝統的だし、おもしろいし、大好きです。
Yes, it’s traditional, it’s interesting, and I like it a lot.
Cue: かっこいいですね。It’s cool, isn’t it?
Response: ええ、かっこいいし、おもしろいし、大好きです。
Yes, it’s cool, it’s interesting, and I like it a lot.
C.
Say it in Japanese.
You’ve been asked what you’d like to do.
- Since I’m in Japan (after much effort), I’d like to speak Japanese.
- Since I’m in Kyoto I’d like to take pictures of old temples and shrines.
- Since I’m going to France, I’d like to drink French wine.
- Since I’m going to Korea, I’d like to experience Korean tradition and culture.
- Since I’m in Japan, I’d like to make a lot of Japanese friends.
- Which would you like, chopsticks or a fork?
- Which would you like to eat, ramen or sushi?
- Which is faster, a taxi or a train?
- Which class is most difficult this term among economics, history, and Japanese?
- Which is your favorite among Japanese, Western, and Chinese cooking?
D.
Act in Japanese
- Discuss what your favorite sports are and why.
- Discuss different country’s traditional food and sports.
- Discuss where you want to visit and why. Give more than one reason.
- You’ve been invited to a dinner party this weekend. Turn the invitation down politely, mentioning that it is very kind.
- Compare and discuss a) two or b) more than three items, including food and drink, languages, classes, movies, travel destinations, transportation, etc.
