Hey guess what
Conversation phrases, Stage 1chunk 59 of 68Opening and changing the subject
Grabs attention to start a story or share news.
- ano neyou know what; listen
- ano sahey, so...; listen
- chotto kiitelisten to this; hear me out
- kiita?did you hear? (about some news)
- shitteta?did you know?
Mix-ups ano ne and ano sa open a topic; a drawn-out ano... is just hesitation.
ano ne
you know what; listen
Soft opener before you tell someone something; common with kids and partners.
ano alone is a hesitant 'um'; ano ne and ano sa announce you have something to say.
ano ne, kyou gakkou de omoshiroi koto atta no.
You know what? Something funny happened at school today.
あのね、今日学校で面白いことあったの。
Written あのねWho you say itHeard 346× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
ano sa
hey, so...; listen
Casual opener before a question or news among friends; more direct than ano ne.
With people you'd speak politely to, open with ano, sumimasen instead.
ano sa, ashita hima? eiga ikanai?
Hey, are you free tomorrow? Want to see a movie?
あのさ、明日暇？映画行かない？
Written あのさWho you say itHeard 207× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
chotto kiite
polite chotto kiite kudasai
listen to this; hear me out
Grab a friend's attention before news or a rant; chotto kiite yo is more insistent.
kiku also means 'ask': chotto kiite ii? is 'can I ask you something?'
chotto kiite! kinou sugoi koto ga atta no.
Listen to this! Something crazy happened yesterday.
ちょっと聞いて！昨日すごいことがあったの。
chotto kiite kudasai. kinou sugoi koto ga atta n desu.
Listen to this. Something amazing happened yesterday.
ちょっと聞いてください。昨日すごいことがあったんです。
Written ちょっと聞いて · ちょっときいて · ちょっと聞いてくださいWho you say itHeard 88× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
kiita?
polite kikimashita ka?
did you hear? (about some news)
Opens gossip or news, often as 'nee, kiita?'; say 'e, nani?' to get the rest.
Kiku also means 'to ask': 'sensei ni kiita?' is 'did you ask the teacher?'.
nee, kiita? tanaka-san, kekkon suru n da tte.
Hey, did you hear? Tanaka's getting married.
ねえ、聞いた？田中さん、結婚するんだって。
ano nyuusu, mou kikimashita ka?
Have you heard the news yet?
あのニュース、もう聞きましたか？
Written 聞いた？ · きいた？ · 聞きましたか？Who you say it and hear itHeard 287× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
shitteta?
polite shitte imashita ka?
did you know?
Shares a surprising fact or bit of trivia; the reply is 'shiranakatta!' (I had no idea) or 'shitteta' (I knew).
Past shitteta is 'did you know (before I told you)'; 'shitteru?' asks 'do you know it?'.
shitteta? ano mise, raigetsu shimaru n da yo.
Did you know? That shop's closing next month.
知ってた？あの店、来月閉まるんだよ。
kore, shitte imashita ka? kekkou yuumei desu yo.
Did you know about this? It's pretty well known.
これ、知っていましたか？けっこう有名ですよ。
Written 知ってた？ · しってた？ · 知っていましたか？Who you say it and hear itHeard 226× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles