Joining a meeting in Japanese: 確認してもいいですか and 一点いいですか

Level B2

Joining a meeting in Japanese: 確認してもいいですか and 一点いいですか

Your boss is explaining the plan, you have a doubt, and she is already moving on to the next item. By the end of this lesson, you can take the turn in a Japanese meeting and hand it back. The central idea is this: before you speak, ask for the turn and, when you can, say what you will do with it (confirm or suggest); before you disagree, repeat what the other person said.

Warm-up: permission, requests and arguments

These pieces come back in this lesson, even if this is the first time you have seen them. The て form + もいいですか asks for permission: ここで水を飲んでもいいですか (koko de mizu o nonde mo ii desu ka), "Can I drink water here?". The て form + いただけますか asks for something with care: 少し待っていただけますか (sukoshi matte itadakemasu ka), "Would you mind waiting a moment?".

一方で (ippō de) shows another side of what was said: カフェは便利です。一方で、うるさいです (kafe wa benri desu. ippō de, urusai desu), "Cafés are convenient. On the other hand, they're noisy". 〜はどうですか suggests: 十時はどうですか (jūji wa dō desu ka), "How about ten?". In a meeting, these pieces help you speak without running over anyone.

Today's words

確認する (kakunin suru) is to confirm: to see that an arrangement is right, without saying it is wrong. 提案する (teian suru) is to propose or suggest. 一点 (itten) is "one point", one item in the discussion. ということ (to iu koto) sums up what was said. つまり (tsumari) means "that is" or "so". 続ける (tsuzukeru) is to continue. どうぞ (dōzo) offers something to someone; here, it offers the turn. パーティー (pātī) is a party.

Model: the team party

Listen once without reading. A is the boss and runs the meeting; B is on the team. A announces the party, B checks what she heard, A starts to move on, and B asks for the turn to point out a problem and suggest another day. 夜 (yoru) is night, 午後 (gogo) is afternoon, 場所 (basho) is place and 駅の近く (eki no chikaku) is near the station. 〜にします (ni shimasu) says what has been decided. では、次に… (dewa, tsugi ni) is "now, next…", and the sentence stops halfway because B takes the turn. In 仕事で来られない人 (shigoto de korarenai hito), で gives the cause: people who can't come because of work. みなさん (minasan) is "everyone", said with respect to a group.

Asking for the turn: 一点いいですか

Start with すみません ("excuse me"), a name or あの (ano, a hesitant "um"). Then come 一点 and いいですか, "is that all right?". It is the same いいですか as in てもいいですか, but with no verb: you ask for the turn and announce a point, but don't yet say whether you will confirm, object or suggest. 一点 warns that you will be brief, and 一点だけいいですか (itten dake ii desu ka), with だけ ("just"), promises even less. After the answer, go straight to that point and don't open another topic. If you already want to say what you are doing, add the verb: 一点、確認してもいいですか (itten, kakunin shite mo ii desu ka).

すみません／あの／田中さん、一点(いってん)いいですか

Checking before moving on: 確認してもいいですか

The て form of 確認する is 確認して (kakunin shite), and it fits the permission pattern: 確認してもいいですか. What you are confirming can come first, with を: 時間を確認してもいいですか (jikan o kakunin shite mo ii desu ka). Then repeat what you understood and end with ということですね (to iu koto desu ne): 一人五千円ということですね (hitori gosen en to iu koto desu ne).

ね expects a yes: you think you have understood. か really asks: 会議は金曜日の十時ということですか (kaigi wa kin'yōbi no jūji to iu koto desu ka) shows you aren't sure. 金曜日の十時ですね (kin'yōbi no jūji desu ne), without ということ, also checks; ということ adds that you are summing up what the other person said.

一人五千円／場所は駅の近くということですね

Three sentences, three jobs

The first three sentences come up in the same talk about the party and do different things. The first confirms: it changes nothing, and the answer is yes or no. The second only announces a point: nobody knows yet whether it will confirm, object or suggest. The third suggests: 提案してもいいですか (teian shite mo ii desu ka) announces a proposal, and 〜はどうですか puts it on the table. The fourth suggests something else, in the same shape.

So ask yourself first what you want from your turn. To be sure, confirm. To change the plan, suggest. If the talk is moving on and you need to get in now, 一点いいですか asks for the turn before the topic changes. It works like "just one thing" in English, which doesn't say what for either; 確認 and 提案 name the job and tell the others what is coming.

Giving and returning the turn

Six sentences move the turn. はい、どうぞ gives it to whoever asked. When two people start together, いえ、お先にどうぞ (ie, osaki ni dōzo) lets the other go first. Someone who runs the meeting and needs to finish can say すみません、あとでお願いします (sumimasen, ato de onegai shimasu): the point is put off, not refused.

Whoever took the turn also returns it. ありがとうございます。続けてください (tsuzukete kudasai) says thank you and asks the other person to go on. どうぞ、続けてください gives the turn back when you have cut someone off. 以上です (ijō desu) closes what you have to say, so the others know they can speak. It belongs to formal occasions such as a meeting: among friends it sounds stiff.

Model: two colleagues, one disagreement

Listen once without reading. A and B are colleagues in the same meeting. They both start talking at once: A gives way, B gives the turn back, and A argues for Saturday. のほうがいいと思います (no hō ga ii to omoimasu) says "I think … is better", and からです (kara desu) gives the reason. 来られる (korareru) is "can come", in the plain form, and みんな (minna) is "everyone". B doesn't disagree at once. First B repeats A's idea with つまり and ということですね, then says でも and gives the other side, and finally suggests another day. In 土曜日も仕事の人 (doyōbi mo shigoto no hito), も is "also": some people work on Saturday too.

Restating before you disagree

Say in your own words what the other person claimed, end with ということですね, and only then open your part with でも (demo, "but") and と思います. Restating isn't agreeing: it shows that you listened and which point you are answering. And the other person can still correct your summary.

Before ということ, an idea with a verb stays in the plain form, like 来られる. 高い goes straight in: 五千円は高いということですね (gosen en wa takai to iu koto desu ne). 便利 takes だ: 便利だということですね (benri da to iu koto desu ne). A noun can go straight in, as in 一人五千円ということですね. If you don't want to say the other person is wrong, 一方で shows another side and leaves both standing. In a meeting like this one, a flat reply such as それは違います (sore wa chigaimasu, "that's wrong") weighs far more than a light "I'm not sure about that".

土曜日の午後はみんな来られる／駅の近くのレストランは便利だということですね。でも、土曜日も仕事の人がいる／高いと思います

With someone above you

With your boss, this lesson's patterns work, but watch who does the action. 確認してもいいですか says you will confirm. 場所を確認していただけますか (basho o kakunin shite itadakemasu ka) asks her to confirm, with the care of いただけますか. 伺う (ukagau) is the humble form of 聞く (kiku, to ask): it lowers your own action, which is why it fits 一点伺ってもいいですか (itten ukagatte mo ii desu ka).

Two sentences are for recognition only. 一点よろしいですか (itten yoroshii desu ka) is a more respectful 一点いいですか. おっしゃることは分かります (ossharu koto wa wakarimasu) uses おっしゃる, which raises the other person's speech, and it often announces an objection. Because it raises whoever does the saying, the listener or someone else, おっしゃる can't describe your own speech.

Your turn, and the summary

Your boss says the party will be at the café near the station. Cover the sentences below and do this in order: confirm with ということですね; ask for the turn with 一点いいですか; restate what a colleague said (the café is convenient) and disagree, because it is noisy; suggest the restaurant near the station; close with 以上です. Only then check. After that, try again with another place.

In short: 確認してもいいですか confirms, 一点いいですか asks for the turn and 提案してもいいですか suggests; どうぞ and 続けてください give the turn away, and 以上です closes yours; ということですね, followed by でも, restates before you disagree.

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