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- "トイレはあそこです。"
"トイレはあそこです。"
Translation:The restroom is over there.
88 Comments
Is it a typo that there's an あ in this sentence, or am I just missing its purpose?
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Asoko is used to indicate distance from both the speaker and listener. Soko would be for "there", and Asoko woulf mean "over there."
I got this as a listening/dictation exercise. I have no idea how to distinguish, at this speed, between トイレはそこです and トイレはあそこです, when they are spoken. The は particle just runs into the あ of あそこ。Any help?
Even when I press 'turtle' button, I couldn't hear the 'asoko' sound, only 'soko'. I got it wrong every time :(
The は and あ sound distinct to me when I listen to the audio at the top of this thread (though sometimes the audio you actually get for the question is different from the one in the discussion thread). You should have an option to listen to a slower audio by pressing the turtle button, which I recommend doing, then listen to the faster audio again and see if you start to notice a difference.
i did and it didnt help. the transition from wa to asoko is really hard to hear if its there at all.
Actually, they're really not. It's an Americanism, coming from the euphemistic use of bathroom, in place of toilet / lavatory.
Also in Australian English (which I guess is pretty similar to UK English besides some slang here and there)
It's called a colloquialism... my toilet has a bath and shower in it, just as the same bathroom has a toilet in it. The words are quite interchangeable.
Once again, it has to do with culture. In the US you wouldn't sound all that strange saying you are going to the bathroom in a restaurant, even though it doesn't have a bath/shower. In the UK it would sound odd to say you were going to the bathroom in such a setting. I guess because originally most houses didn't have a bath and a toilet in tthe same room
Going to the "bathroom" is very commonly used here in the UK, especially outside of one's home or casual social environment e.g. at work; in a restaurant; at a formal event etc. Generally speaking it is the most publicly/socially used term for "toilet" - it also serves as a very handy, polite euphemism; and it is widely transferrable across most social groups and contexts!
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No it's not. UK leanred it from American TV, but most people don't use it and find it absurd. There's no bath there.
トイレ and ふろ aren't exactly the same. The room with a toilet is トイレ and ふろ (風呂) is the room with tub and shower. I see on animes the rooms are separated.
There are examples of the Japanese expectations being applied to the English translations in some places but not others. I would far prefer we went with purely the Japanese expectations.
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In my experience. If you're asking in a public place in the UK, you would often use a plural. "Where are the toilets?". "The toilets are over there." But in someone's house you would refer to the toilet (singular) or bathroom, if you're trying to be more polite. What situation would this Japanese phrase apply to?
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Japanese doesn't make grammatical difference between singular and plural, so this is either.
There are no plurals in Japanese, the word is always the same single or plural :) (example: "Isu" is chair. "Those chairs" would be "sono isu" and "That chair" would also be "sono isu.")
Somehow the word tile for 'bathroom' was missing so I tried The can is over there" no luck
Do "はそこ" and "はあそこ" really sound the same in Japanese spoken in real life or is it just in this app?
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Here is a helpful website for learning "ko-so-a-do/re-ko-chira": http://www.japaneseprofessor.com/lessons/beginning/demonstratives-the-ko-so-a-do-series/
Here is also a flashcard set I made for those: https://www.cram.com/flashcards/japanese-ko-so-a-do-11471229
if you push "´" or "^" a single time before confirming your answer with enter duolingo will skip the next screen and you will get right to the next question
Toilet must be accepted... My question to all who even think to disagree with me is following: What English word is source to katakana word TO-I-RE?
Yes, "There is the toilet" is technically correct, but it's not very common used in English.
"Excuse me, where is the toilet?"
"It (the toilet) is over there."
Also note that あそこ (over there) is used here instead of just そこ (there).
トイレはそこです。
The toilet is there.
トイレはあそこでそ。
The toilet is over there.
I as an American would also use "restroom" instead of "toilet", but that's seems up to region and personal choice.
20/03/2019
I'm just a beginner in Japanese, but I think です is more appropriate here.
トイレ[the bathroom]+は[subject particle]+あそこ[there - far for both the speaker and the listener]+です[to be] = Literally: As for the bathroom, there is. = Proper English: The bathroom IS over there.
トイレ[the bathroom]+は[subjet particle]+あそこ[there]+あります[to exist - for unanimated objects] = Literally: As for the bathroom, there exists. = Proper English: As for the bathroom, it exists there.
As far as I understand particles in Japanese, the は makes the second sentence a bit more philosophic. "As for the bathroom, it exists there [somewhere in vast space of the universe]".
But this second sentence could be more appropriate with が particle: トイレがあそこあります
が particle makes the object specified, but nonetheless part ”あそこ” sounds a little bit strange for me.
In previous lessons there were some similar phrases, for example: へやがあります。 - There is a room. だいどころがあります。 - There is a kitchen.
Do I understand the underlying message accurately? へやがあります。- the room is over there. As in there is a room that exists and we may or may not be able to see it from where we are, but it's in the general direction I am indicating.
And へやはあそこです。-there is a room. As in there is a room right in front of us unless of course we are actually in the room.
部屋があります。(heya ga arimasu)
There is a room. / I have a room. (A room exists somewhere)
部屋はあそこです。(heya wa asoko desu) = 部屋はあそこにあります。(heya wa asoko ni arimasu)
The room is over there (somewhere away from both the speaker and the listener)
You can say あそこはトイレです (asoko wa toire desu), but it changes the nuance to “over there is the toilet “.
Why トイレ"bathroom" is wrong translate in this question and success in anothee?
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I just tried writing toilet is over there and got it wrong. Um, lol?? If "a" or "the" doesn't exist in Japanese, why did I get it wrong? Shouldn't it be right?? XP
"A" and "the" don't exist in Japanese, but they do in English so you must add them in in translation to make the sentence sound better. 20/03/2019
ここ - near the speaker
そこ - near the listener
あそこ - far from both the speaker and the listener
トイレはあそこです。(toire wa asoko desu) - The toilet is (over) there (far from both the speaker and the listener). = トイレはあそこにあります。(toire wa asoko ni arimasu)
トイレはそこです。 (toire wa soko desu) - The toilet is there (near the listener). = トイレはそこにあります。(toire wa soko ni arimasu)
They have basically the same meaning, and for use at duolingo they are interchangeable. The sentences using です have more of an A=B nuance, where "the toilet" = "over there". The sentences using あります are more about A is located at B, so "the toilet is located over there".
AはBです。
A wa B desu. (where A=B)
The "wa" marks the topic (similar to the subject) of the sentence, so if トイレ (toire) is the important part of your sentence, you say:
トイレはあそこです。
Toire wa asoko desu.
The toilet is over there. (toilet = over there)
If あそこ (asoko) is the important part of your sentence you can say:
あそこはトイレです。
Asoko wa toire desu.
Over there is the toilet. (over there = toilet)
More examples of this sentence pattern:
水はおいしいです。
Mizu wa oishii desu.
Water is delicious. (water = delicious)
私は学生です。
Watashi wa gakusei desu.
I am a student. (I = student)
You need an article before toilet, either "the toilet is over there" or "a toilet is over there" to make a grammatically correct sentence.
Has anyone ever actually found that room restful?
It should be called the 'relief room'.
I know the difference between ここ, そこ and あそこ very well, but still get mixed up with "there" and "over there", especially because Duo accepts both "here" and "over here" as the same thing.
Generally duolingo uses "over there" for あそこ and "there" for そこ to show the distinction between "over there, away from both the speaker and listener" and "there by the listener", but English doesn't have that clear distinction. If your answer wasn't accepted, I think it's worth an error report.
トイレはあそこです。
(Almost) literal translation: Regarding(は) the restroom(トイレ), there(あそこ) it is(です).
Did you put "The" first? It needs a definite article in English. If you included that, then use the report function, and they will update permitted responses at some point.
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But app translated like - "They will be back in 1 hour". Is that norm?! Can't add screenshot here to prove.
"They will be back in 1 hour" is a message you get when you turn off listening exercises.
レストルーム is not commonly used in Japanese.
トイレ is a room with a toilet or a room with multiple toilets. In my dialect of English, we call that a "restroom".
They could still comprehend such as it is part of the language after all.
I teach the word "restroom" to Japanese 4th graders (ages 9-10), and they have difficulty remembering it because it's completely unfamiliar to them. Maybe an adult who has learned the English word "restroom" might understand レストルーム, but in my experience it is not used.
If you check jisho.org, トイレ is listed as a "common word" and レストルーム is not.
They do incorporate English into their exclamations. I believe they will know!
"Toilet is over there" marked as incorrect. "The bathroom is over there" suggested as correct. So where is the logic?
I think if you wrote "the toilet is over there", it would be accepted. Without it, it sounds like slang to me.
