Oral Japanese Practice for Speaking, Listening, Writing and Reading

Good morning!
おはよう！

Haha good morning!
笑　おはよう！

I've been well! actually didn't realize it's been about a week since we talked, feels like yesterday. Our quarantine got extended again though.
元気よ！話してから約1週間になることに気づかなかった。昨日のような気がする。だけど、私たちの隔離は再び延長されちゃった。

Yes, I did How about you?
祝ったよ祝った？

We did too, just at home though. Had some cake and barbeque!
祝ったよ家でね。ケーキとバーベキュー！

Yes and no? To be honest, I think it just became common because of businesses selling things for Mother's Day
どちらともいえないかな？正直なところ、母の日に物を売りたい企業のおかげで、それが一般的になったと思う

But of course, our mothers are now expecting gifts so! haha
もちろん、私たちの母親はプレゼントを期待しているよ！笑

So many holidays like that
多くの休日もね

Oh! What movie? I haven't watched any new ones yet
ああ！何の映画？新しいものはまだ見れてない

Yeah! I have a long list of movies to watch but can't pick one. Oh, that's a good one!
うん！見たい映画のリストがたくさんあって、選べない。ああ、それはいいね！

Yeah! I watched it last year, I think? The one about baseball?
うん！去年見たと思う？野球について？

To be honest, no! I was shocked to find out that our school even had a baseball team. We'd watch them practice from time to time out of curiosity. But it's really popular in Japan, isn't it?
正直なところ、ノーだね！私たちの学校にも野球チームがあることにビックリしました。でも日本では大人気だよね。

Here, basketball is the most popular by a lot. Followed by volleyball, but people see it as for girls. I didn't know basketball was popular in Japan!
ここではバスケが一番人気。バレーボールが続くけど、女の子のスポーツかな。バスケットボールが日本で人気だったなんて知らなかった！

Yes, I was gonna mention Slam Dunk! It slipped my mind for a second, but I suppose it's because I haven't seen any real life Japanese basketball athletes yet.
スラムダンクについて言おうとしてた！一瞬よぎったけど、実際の日本のバスケットボール選手はまだ見たことがない。読んだことはないけど、兄弟はアニメが大好きでした。以前にいくつかのエピソードを見たのを覚えてる。ポスターもあると思う！

No, I haven't read it but my siblings loved the anime. Are you a fan?
読んだことないけど、兄弟はアニメが大好きでした。ファン？

That's nice!
いいね！

Wow, really? Such an impact! But I can see it, it was really popular even here.
うわー、本当に？そんなインパクト！でもわかる、ここでも大人気だった。

To be honest, I haven't watched a lot of anime, but it's so popular here that I can't escape knowing about them haha
正直なところ、アニメはあまり見てないけど、人気が高いので、知らずにはいられない。

I get what you mean! They have character development.
なるほどね！キャラクターの成長。

Haha there are a lot of episodes, aren't there?
エピソードがたくさんあったよね？

I suppose Haikyu!! would be like a modern equivalent. To be honest, the animes I've watched are only the short ones! I don't play any sports, but shows or movies about sports are still so entertaining.
ハイキューだと思います!!現代版スラムダンク。正直なところ、私が見たアニメは短いものだけ！

I just see clips of it from time to time, my friends are fans! Do you play any sports?
私は時々それのクリップを見るだけ。私の友達はファン。スポーツやる？

Wow, that's a lot! What's the difference between softball and baseball?
わあ、多いね！ソフトボールと野球の違いは何？

Oh, really? Is the ball just... softer?
そうなんだ？ボールはただ…柔らかい？

Oh, I see, I get what you mean. I wonder how softball came to be when it's similar to baseball. The field is larger?
ああ、なるほど。野球と似てるならソフトボールはどうやってできたのかって。フィールドは大きい？

I mixed it up! For you, does that make it easier or harder?
混ぜた！どっちが簡単？

I see! It seems like a fun sport.
そうですか！楽しいスポーツっぽいね。

Yeah, they really went through a lot. What did it make you think?
ええ、本当に多くのことを経験した。どう思った？

Yeah! I get what you mean. To be honest, when I heard about how much players make... wow.
うん！確かにね。正直なところ、プレーヤーがどれだけ稼ぐか...笑。

True! Do you think the way Brad Pitt's character did it was good?
それ！ブラッド・ピットのキャラは良かったと思う？

To be honest, I didn't understand it much but when I read up on it, it really made sense! Lots of statistics.
正直言って、あまり理解できなかったけど、読んでみると本当に納得できた！たくさんの統計。

Oh, I understand. Like, they have no strategy to it?
なるほど。彼らはそれに戦略をがないってこと？

I see, that's too bad. Must be frustrating as a fan too!
痛いね。ファンとしてもイライラするね！

I get what you mean! A lot of players might slip between the cracks. They start recruiting players in high school, right?
わかる！多くのプレイヤーが犠牲になる可能性があるよね。彼らは高校で選手を募集し始めるよね？

It's interesting to think that they can start so early! But that means you really have to look forward and think about how they'll improve.
そんなに早く始めることができると考えるのは興味深い！だけど、それは人々が本当に期待して、どのように改善するかについて考えなければいけないよね。

Oh, I see! Well, we're all human so I suppose it's hard to avoid biases like that.
なるほど！うーん、皆人間だから、そのような偏見を避けるのは難しいと思う。

Really? I'm sad to hear that. How can you tell though, that they are choosing the players because of loyalty and not because of their skills?
本当に？つらい。だけど、彼らがスキルではなく忠誠でプレーヤーを選んでいるってどうやってわかる？

I get what you mean! It really is complicated.
なるほどね！複雑。

Right, they must have their dream teams to join!
彼らはいたいチームに入れないとね！

I understand! Did you play when you were a student?
なるほどね！学生だったときやってた？

That's nice!
いいね！

That's power tripping! But I understand why that happens.
権力の罠！でもそうなるよね、この仕組みでは。

Yes.
確かに。

True! I think it's based on a real book.
ほんとだ！実際の本に基づいているよね。

Yeah! They called it sabermetrics right?
いるね！彼らはそれをセイバーメトリクスと呼んでたっけ？

For something about statistics, the name sounds really cool haha
名前が本当にクールに聞こえる（笑）

Really? I assumed it would be the norm by now.
本当に？今では当たり前だと思ってた。

That's so sad to hear! Are your favorite players okay?
つらい！好きな選手は大丈夫？

That's so nice!
とても素敵！

True! I wish my parents taught me some sports haha It's cute! But you guys might not be able to play much because of the coronavirus.
それね！両親が私にスポーツを教えてくれたらよかったのに。いいね！だけど、コロナウイルスのせいで、多くをプレイすることができないかもしれないね。

it's too bad. I think in other countries, they play the games without an audience instead.
ドンマイだね。他の国では、代わりに聴衆なしで試合をやってると思う。

Of course, that makes sense. Safety is still number one
もちろん、それは理にかなってるよ。安全性はそれでも1番