Opening a story
Conversation phrases, Stage 2chunk 35 of 71Telling what happened
Lets you launch into a story or hook the listener before you start.
- iroiro attea lot happened, so...; it's a long story
- mou ittakke?did I already tell you?
- dou natta to omou?guess what happened?
Mix-ups mou ittakke? (did I tell you?) is easy to confuse with mou itta (I already said it).
iroiro atte
a lot happened, so...; it's a long story
Hints at trouble without explaining; listeners usually don't press.
iroiro is 'all sorts'; iroiro arigatou is 'thanks for everything'.
maa, iroiro atte, shigoto yameta n da.
Well, a lot happened, and I quit my job.
まあ、いろいろあって、仕事辞めたんだ。
maa, iroiro atte, shigoto o yamemashita.
Well, it's a long story, but I quit my job.
まあ、いろいろあって、仕事を辞めました。
Written いろいろあってWho you say it and hear itHeard 34× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
mou ittakke?
polite mou iimashitakke?
did I already tell you?
Checks before sharing news so you don't repeat yourself; they'll say 'kiitenai' (you didn't) or 'kiita yo' (you did).
Itta (said) and itta (went) sound the same; context tells them apart.
atarashii shigoto kimatta no, mou ittakke?
Did I tell you I got a new job?
新しい仕事決まったの、もう言ったっけ？
raigetsu hikkosu koto, mou iimashitakke?
Did I mention I'm moving next month?
来月引っ越すこと、もう言いましたっけ？
Written もう言ったっけ？ · もういったっけ？ · もう言いましたっけ？Who you say itHeard 74× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
dou natta to omou?
polite dou natta to omoimasu ka?
guess what happened?
Builds suspense before the payoff of a story; the listener answers 'e, dou natta no?'.
Swap in other question words: 'nani shita to omou?' (guess what he did?).
de, sono ato dou natta to omou?
So guess what happened after that?
で、その後どうなったと思う？
sore de, kekka dou natta to omoimasu ka?
And guess how it turned out?
それで、結果どうなったと思いますか？
Written どうなったと思う？ · どうなったとおもう？ · どうなったと思いますか？Who you say itHeard 14× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles