Welcome to Episode 99 of Real Japanese Talk with Haruka & Saki! 🗼🐙

🚆 Shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of strangers, and total silence. Saki's friend found the quiet more unnerving than the crush. 🎯

You'll learn three words:

• 詰める (tsumeru) - to close the gap, to move up and make room

• 譲る (yuzuru) - to give up something of yours, especially your seat

• 迷惑 (meiwaku) - a nuisance to others; the rule underneath all the other rules

💡 Inside: the announcement you must be able to act on - 「奥へお詰めください」 - and what 「奥」 actually means; sliding over in a seated row to make room for one more, silently, because saying nothing is the polite part; priority seats, the badges some passengers wear, and why a single 「どうぞ」 beats a long polite speech when offering your seat; the master principle of 「迷惑をかけない」 and what it forbids - calls yes, texts no problem, headphones turned down, backpack held in front where it can't hit anyone; the one thing that is entirely permitted, sleeping, and its single limit; the pushers still working the morning doors; women-only carriages and their pink signage; and the simplest advice of all - let the train go and take the next one.

Perfect for N4-N3 learners commuting in Japan. Tokyo & Kansai dialogue, fully shadowable. Full transcript & study notes on Patreon. 🎧

【Today's Vocabulary / 今日の言葉】

・詰める (つめる) - To pack, to close up a gap, to move along. On trains you will hear 「奥へお詰めください」 (please move down inside) and see people 「席を詰める」 (shuffle along to make room). It also means to fill a container - 「弁当を詰める」 (pack a lunchbox) - and, figuratively, to finalise: 「話を詰める」 is to nail down the remaining details of a plan, a very common business phrase. Note 「根を詰める」, to work at something intensely. Related words: 「混む」 (komu, to be crowded), 「空ける」 (akeru, to make space), 「ぎゅうぎゅう」 (gyuugyuu, jam-packed).

・譲る (ゆずる) - To yield, to hand over, to let someone have. The everyday uses are physical: 「席を譲る」 (give up your seat), 「道を譲る」 (let someone pass). It extends to selling on cheaply or giving away (「友達に譲った」), to conceding a point in an argument (「一歩も譲らない」, not to give an inch), and to handing down a business or position to a successor. The noun 「譲り合い」 - mutual yielding - appears on road signs and is treated as a civic virtue. Related words: 「渡す」 (watasu, to hand over), 「遠慮」 (enryo, restraint), 「優先席」 (yuusenseki, priority seat).

・迷惑 (めいわく) - Nuisance, trouble, inconvenience caused to others - and arguably the single most important social concept in Japan. 「迷惑をかける」 (to cause trouble for someone) is what children are taught above all to avoid; 「ご迷惑をおかけしました」 is the standard workplace apology. Note 「迷惑メール」 (spam) and 「近所迷惑」 (disturbing the neighbours). The flip side is worth knowing too: the fear of 迷惑 can stop people asking for help they need. Related words: 「気をつかう」 (ki wo tsukau, to be considerate), 「遠慮」 (enryo, holding back), 「思いやり」 (omoiyari, consideration).

📄 Get the Full Transcript with Furigana & Study Guide on our Patreon!シャドーイングに便利な「ふりがな付き台本」はこちら：👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/posts/155837588⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠