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24. Today & Yesterday

0:00 --:--
今日は何をしますか
What are you doing today
今日は友達の誕生日です
Today is my friend's birthday
本当に
Really
昼に会います
I'm meeting them at noon
一緒にご飯を食べます
We're eating together
いいですね
That's nice
昨日も友達に会いましたか
Did you meet your friend yesterday too
はい、昨日の朝
Yes, yesterday morning
一緒に出かけました
We went out together
明日の夜、会いますか
Will we meet tomorrow night
何時がいいですか
What time works for you
七時はどうですか
How about seven
七時に会います
I'll meet you at seven
明日は何をしますか
What are you doing tomorrow
明日は忙しいです
Tomorrow I'm busy
朝、日本語を勉強します
I'm studying Japanese in the morning
そうですか
I see
夜はどうですか
How about the evening
夜は大丈夫です
The evening is fine
午後も仕事がありますか
Do you have work in the afternoon too
ええ、少し忙しいです
Yeah, I'm a little busy
夕方に帰ります
I'll head home in the evening
明日も会いますか
Will we meet tomorrow too
はい、昼に会います
Yeah, at noon
ご飯の後、会いますか
Meet after the meal
はい、大丈夫です
Yeah, that works
昨日も今日も
Yesterday and today
友達に会いました
I met my friend
一緒に話しました
We talked together
また明日
See you tomorrow
またね
See you

Cultural Notes

Birthdays in Japan: the birthday person treats

In Japan, it's common for the birthday person to treat their friends to food -- not the other way around. So if your Japanese friend says it's their 誕生日 and invites you to lunch, they might be planning to pay. This is the opposite of what many Western countries expect, where friends chip in for the birthday person.

また is everywhere

You'll hear また constantly in daily Japanese. また明日 (see you tomorrow) and またね (see you later) are two of the most common ways to say goodbye casually. Japanese people use these the way English speakers say 'see ya' -- quick, warm, and automatic. If you only remember one goodbye from this lesson, make it またね.

Morning, noon, and night greetings

Japanese has a different greeting for each time of day, and you already know them: おはよう for 朝, こんにちは for 昼, and こんばんは for 夜. Picking the right one shows you're paying attention to the time, which matters in Japan. If it's late afternoon and you're not sure, こんにちは is the safe choice until it feels like evening.