Japanese with Manga

Thanks for the mochi with どうも

Vocabulary Explanation: Ways to say thank you in Japanese

Manga panel from くまぐらし showing example of Thanks for the mochi with どうも.
くまぐらし » Volume 2 » Page 46

Kumada’s neighbor gave him extra mochi when she made too much. A few days later, he sees her in the park.

熊田(くまだ):
「先日(せんじつ)はぼた餅(もち)をどうも…　美味(おい)しかったよ」
“Thanks for the botamochi the other day... They were really delicious.”
隣(となり)さん:
「でしょでしょ！？　昔(むかし)おかんに教(おそ)わったんだ〜　作(つく)り方(かた)」
“Right?! I learned how to make them from my mom a long time ago~”

Key Points

1どうも is a brief standalone “thanks” here
  • どうも can also be a greeting, but 先日(せんじつ)はぼた餅(もち)を makes gratitude the clear reading in this scene.
  • 先日(せんじつ)は looks back to “the other day”, and ぼた餅(もち)を names the gift he is thanking her for.
2美味(おい)しかったよ = “They were delicious”
  • 美味(おい)しい becomes 美味(おい)しかった because Kumada has already eaten the botamochi.
  • Sentence-final よ tells his neighbor his evaluation. It contrasts with her でしょ, which asks him to agree.
3でしょでしょ asks for enthusiastic agreement
  • でしょ is the conversational form of でしょう. With rising intonation, it means “right?”
  • Repeating it gives the neighbor’s response an excited “Right?! Right?!” rhythm.
4おかんに教(おそ)わったんだ supplies the explanation
  • おかん is a casual word for “mom”. With 教(おそ)わる, the particle に marks the person she learned from.
  • んだ is casual explanatory のだ. She explains why her homemade botamochi turned out so well.
5作(つく)り方(かた) arrives as an afterthought
  • A fuller, regular order would be 昔(むかし)おかんに作(つく)り方(かた)を教(おそ)わったんだ.
  • She finishes the sentence first, then adds 作(つく)り方(かた) to clarify what her mother taught her. The object marker を is understood.

See Also

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