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Let’s learn Japanese with Olivia’s quote from Asobi Asobase.

Video

Olivia’s Quote

Japanese: ブランコだめって言ってなかったよね？
Romaji: buranko damette ittenakatta yone?
English: You never said no swings, right?

Analysis

ブランコ means “swings”.

だめ means “no good” or “not allowed”. So, ブランコだめ means “no swings” or “swings not allowed”.

って is a casual version of the quotation particle と, usually followed by a verb like 言う, 聞く, 思う, and so on.

言ってなかった is the same as 言っていなかった meaning “wasn’t/weren’t saying”. It’s the negative form of 言っている (is/are saying). In casual speech, the い is often omitted. In this context, you can also use the simple past tense 言わなかった meaning “didn’t say”. 言わなかった is used to focus on the action of saying, whereas 言ってなかった is used to focus on what she actually said at the moment. But in this case, it’s just a subtle nuance difference so either way is fine.

よね is the combination of the sentence ending particles よ and ね, meaning “right?”. I will quickly explain how each particle is used.

• よ is used when you want to tell something that you think the listener doesn’t know.
• ね is used when you want to share or agree something with the listener.
• よね is used when you want to confirm what you think is the same as what the listener thinks.

Now try this quiz. Which answer is best when your friend invites you to go for a drink? A: いいよ B: いいね C: いいよね – The best answer is B: いいね as you want to show that you agree with your friend that it’s a nice idea. You can also say いいよ but it sounds a bit cold as you’re just saying that you are OK about it without showing that you are happy about it. いいよね is wrong as it’s not something you want to confirm.

Examples

って (casual version of quotation particle と)

たこ焼やき食たべたいって言いってたから、買かってきたよ。

takoyaki tabetaitte itteta kara, katte kita yo.

You said you wanted to eat takoyaki so I bought it for you.

彼氏かれしと別わかれたって友達ともだちから聞きいたよ。何なにがあったの？

kareshi to wakaretatte tomodachi kara kiita yo. nani ga atta no?

I heard from a friend that you broke up with your boyfriend. What happened?

この音楽おんがくを聞きくと、また頑張がんばろうって思おもえる。

kono ongaku o kiku to, mata ganbarōtte omoeru.

When I listen to this music, it makes me think I can keep going.

よね (used to confirm what you think is the same as what the listener thinks)

ゲームの前まえに宿題しゅくだいするって言いったよね！？

gēmu no mae ni shukudai surutte itta yone?!

You told me that you would do your homework before playing games, didn’t you?!

今日きょうは曇くもってるけど、明日あしたは晴はれるよね。

kyō wa kumotteru kedo, ashita wa hareru yone.

It’s cloudy today but it’s going to be sunny tomorrow, right?

前まえから思おもってたけど、あいつ化粧けしょう濃こいよね。

mae kara omotteta kedo, aitsu keshō koi yone.

I’ve always thought that she puts too much make-up on, right?

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