How to sort out an unexpected problem in Japanese: explain, negotiate, confirm

Level B1

How to sort out an unexpected problem in Japanese: explain, negotiate, confirm

Your train has stopped and a hotel is expecting you tonight. This lesson adds no new grammar: it shows the tools of this level working together on one task, in four moves. You say what happened, in order; you weigh two options; you negotiate, asking when you get lost; and you confirm the result in writing. The situation is new, but the structures are ones you have already met.

Words for the problem

予約 (yoyaku) is a booking, and 予約する (yoyaku suru) is to book. 今夜 (kon'ya) is tonight. 受付 (uketsuke) is reception. 確認する (kakunin suru) is to confirm, and 確認のメール (kakunin no mēru) is a confirmation email. までに (made ni) marks the latest time: 十時までに, by ten. Keep it apart from まで, as English does: まで is until, for something that lasts (十時までです, open until ten), and までに is by, for something that happens once (十時までに着けば, if you arrive by ten). Watch out for two verbs that sound the same: 止まる (tomaru) is to stop, as a train does, and 泊まる (tomaru) is to stay the night. The kanji and the context tell them apart.

Recap: the tools you already have

Each example is one tool from this level, in the order you will need them. とき (toki) sets the scene: what was going on when something happened. ば (-ba) says what follows if a condition is met. なら (nara) picks up a case that is already on the table and responds to it. ていただけますか (te itadakemasu ka) is a careful request, and ちょっと難しいです (chotto muzukashii desu) is a polite no. 変更 (henkō) is a change to something arranged, and 変更できますか asks whether it can be moved; ですね (desu ne) checks a detail: 金曜日の十時ですね, Friday at ten, right?

Model: a call to the hotel

Listen once without reading. Ana is on her way to a hotel and has a problem. Follow the order of the call: she says who she is and what happened, and the hotel offers two options. それは大変でしたね (sore wa taihen deshita ne) means “that must have been hard”. 分かりません (wakarimasen) is “I don't know” here. 今夜予約しているアナです is the short clause before a noun that you know, and here ている means she has already booked, not that she is booking now.

Say what happened in order: とき, then ので

In this lesson, a connected account has two steps. First the scene and the event: とき sets the moment, and the polite past (ました, ませんでした) says what happened. Then the result for the listener: ので gives the cause, and what follows says what it means now. 遅くなります (osoku narimasu) is “I'll be late”: なる (naru, to become) after 遅く, from 遅い (osoi, slow or late).

Before とき, ている describes something in progress (待っているとき, while I was waiting), and the plain past describes something already done (着いたとき, when I had got there). Before ので, these examples also use the plain form: 止まった, ない. Two short sentences are enough, and you only have to keep track of one idea at a time.

…とき、…。…ので、…

Two options: 〜ば and 〜なら

When a problem has two ways out, say each one as a condition plus what it leads to. With ば, the second half says what the condition brings: 十時までに着けば、今夜泊まれます, if you arrive by ten, you can stay tonight. With なら, you start from a case that has just come up and respond to it: 着けないなら, if that is how things stand and you can't arrive. After なら, the examples here give a possibility, a request or a proposal: 今日来られないなら、金曜日に来ていただけますか; 今日が難しいなら、月曜日はどうですか.

着けない (tsukenai, can't arrive) and 来られない (korarenai, can't come) are plain negatives of the potential. Don't let the look fool you: 着けば (tsukeba) is simply 着く with ば, with no “can” in it. 来る is irregular: 来れば is kureba, but its potential is 来られる (korareru). The order ば first, なら second is only how these examples run: it is not a rule. To end, ask for a choice with どちらがいいですか (dochira ga ii desu ka, which is better?).

…ば、…。…なら、…

Model: the rest of the call

Ana has lost the thread, so she asks to hear it again. Then they bargain over the time and she asks for an email. 朝 (asa) is morning, and 今 (ima) is now.

When you don't understand, ask

On the phone you can't point at anything, and you will miss things: that is normal, and asking is part of the task. You have three ways. もう一度言っていただけますか (mō ichido itte itadakemasu ka) asks to hear it all again. 「変更」はどういう意味ですか (henkō wa dō iu imi desu ka) asks about one word: put the word you heard before は. 予約は明日に変更ですね repeats what you think you understood, with ですね, so the other person can say yes or correct you. In the model, the answer to Ana comes back simpler instead of word for word: 今夜と明日、どちらがいいですか.

Negotiate: a no, then another offer

ちょっと難しいです is a no, and both sides use it in the model: Ana for tonight, the hotel for the morning. What keeps the talk going is what comes next, a new offer: 明日の朝に変更していただけますか, 午後三時はどうですか. So when you turn something down, give the no and the alternative together. 変更していただけますか is 変更する in the て form plus the careful request. Close the deal by repeating it with ですね and adding 分かりました (wakarimashita, got it).

Confirm in writing

Even with the hotel's email on its way, a short message of your own avoids confusion about the date and time. Ana's has five lines: a subject, who she is, what was agreed and why, a request to check it, and a closing with her name. 今日電話したアナです (kyō denwa shita Ana desu) tells the reader which Ana is writing. 間違い (machigai) is a mistake, and 間違いがあれば (machigai ga areba, if there is a mistake) is ば again, with ある: after a state like ある, ば can take a request. 教えていただけますか (oshiete itadakemasu ka) means “could you let me know” here, not “could you teach me”. よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu) closes a message that asks something of the reader; it has no exact equivalent, and here “thank you in advance” comes close.

Read the reply: find what matters

The promised email arrives: a notice. You only need to recognise these lines, not produce them, and you don't need every word: look for four things. The title says what it is about: 予約変更のお知らせ (お知らせ, oshirase, is a notice). The date and time: 5月10日の午後3時. A limit: 受付は午後10時までです, reception is open until 10 p.m. What to do: 遅くなるときは、電話してください, if you are running late, phone them. Then compare the date and time with your own message: 明日 has to be that date, and the time has to be the same.

Your turn, and the summary

You have a meeting, 会議 (kaigi), at ten. On the way, the rain gets heavier and the train doesn't come: 来ない (konai). Cover the sentences below. Tell what happened with とき, give the result with ので, ask to move the meeting to the afternoon and, with なら, offer tomorrow as a second option. Repeat the time you are offered (three o'clock), ask for a confirmation email and write the line that says what changed and why; only then check. To sum up: tell the story in order with とき and ので; put two options with ば and なら; ask with もう一度 or どういう意味; answer ちょっと難しいです with a new offer; check with ですね; and confirm in writing.

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