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Tweet of the Week #69: How a Delivery Mistake Lead to a Dramatic Gyudon Incident

Learn how to use ながら with this week's strange tweet.

By 4 min read

When you’re too washed-up from work to cook anything (anything tasty at least), food delivery services, 出前でまえ in Japanese, are life-savers. Well, except when you’re too tired to realize whatcha doin’.

Food, now, onegaishimasu

Good news for all you lazy foodies! You’ll never run out of dining options in Japan, for 出前 services, also called 宅配たくはい or デリバリー are legion.

When most restaurants and fast-food joints don’t have their own delivery men, they’re mostly registered with well-known delivery services platforms such as demae-can, Rakuten delivery, and Uber Eats.

You don’t even have to pick-up the phone anymore or speak Japanese (but you should). You can order your favorite comfort food from your couch while bingeing the latest Terrace House on Netflix and having it delivered to your front door.

Your only job, aside from paying ¥¥¥¥, is to check that the delivered food is indeed the food you ordered.

Washed-out gyudon

Wear, wash, dry, fold, wear. Repeat.

Laundry is one of the least fun house chores there is. And if we could, we’d send everything straight to the dry-cleaning. That’s probably what @sauntm will do from now on unless he managed to save his washing-machine after a terrible, terrible gyudon incident.

あの、本当ほんとう意味いみがわからないんですけど、牛丼ぎゅうどん洗濯せんたくしちゃって洗濯機にせんたくきなか悲惨ひさんなことになってる。

= Erm, I don’t really understand but, somehow I washed my gyudon with my laundry and the inside of my washing machine tragically turned to this.

FYI gyudon is a bowl of rice topped with beef which goes back to the late 1800s. Offering a lot of topping variations, this dish is the best friend of salarymen and students looking to eat quick and cheap.

But definitely not washing-machine friendly.

Oh god, why?

Turns out, the gyudon delivery wasn’t even part of @sauntm’s dinner plan.

牛丼洗濯事件じけん経緯いきさつ

昨日きのうあさインターホンのおときて宅配物たきはいものけとり洗濯機のうえいた→なに確認かくにんせず二度寝にどね→起きてから受けったのは松山まつやまのお新香しんこセットだったことにづく→たのんでないしお新香しか入ってないのへんだなとおもいながらお新香だけべた→洗濯→いまココ

= Circumstances of the washed gyudon incident

Yesterday morning, I was woken by the sound of the intercom, received delivery and left it on the top of my washing machine. Somehow, I went back to sleep without checking. When I woke up, I realized I received Matusya’s pickled vegetable set. I ate it while wondering how strange it was that there were only pickled vegetables and I didn’t order it. Did my laundry. Now.

uber eatsの配達員はいたついんさんがたぶん間違まちがってとどけちゃって、さらにわたしがそれを受け取ってしまったせいで、お新香セットが届かなかっただれかがいるんだよね。ごめんなさい。これはuberに連絡れんらくするべきかな。

= I guess someone didn’t receive their pickled vegetable set because, on top of the UberEats delivery guy delivering it by mistake, I accepted the delivery. I’m sorry. I must contact Uber.

Two things to learn from this story: always double-check your delivery and avoid leaving it near your washing machine!

Food binge while binging Netflix

ながら is a useful N4 suffix to know in order to express that one action is taking place in conjunction with another action. Ever heard you shouldn’t look at your phone while walking because it’s dangerous…?

あるきながら”“自転車じてんしゃりながら”などの歩きスマホとうかか事故じこにより、201人にひゃくいちにん救急きゅうきゅう搬送はんそうされています。

“201 people have been transported to the hospital after accidents involving looking at their phone while walking or riding a bicycle.”

ながら translates “while”, “during” or “as”. You’ll conjugate the verb to its ~ます form and attach ながら to the verb’s stem: 歩く(to walk) – 歩きます (I walk) – 歩きながら (while walking).

Be mindful that the main verb ends the sentence. Although it doesn’t change the sentence’s meaning much, it does bring a nuance on the action you’re focusing on.

スマホをながら、歩きます。= Walking while looking at my phone.

歩きながら、スマホを見ます。= Looking at my phone while walking.

Vocabulary

Japanese Romaji English
ほんとう hontou ni really
意味いみ imi meaning
わかる wakaru understand
けど kedo but
牛丼ぎゅうどん gyuudon Rice bowl topped with beef meat
洗濯せんたくする sentaku suru do laundry
洗濯機にせんたくき sentaku ki washing-machine
なか naka inside
悲惨ひさん hisan horrible, miserable
事件じけん jiken  incident
経緯いきさつ ikisatsu circumstances
昨日きのうあさ kinou asa yesterday morning
おときる oto de okiru wake up with a sound
宅配物たきはいもの takuhai mono home delivery
うえ ue ni  on top of
oku put, place
確認かくにんせず kakuninsezni without checking
二度寝にどね nidone sleep a second time
づく kidzuku realize
たの tanomu  order
へん hen weird
おも omou think
べる taberu eat
いま ima  now
配達員はいたついんさん haitatsuin san delivery man
たぶん tabun maybe, probably
間違まちがって machigatte by mistake
とどける todokeru deliver
さらに sara ni further, moreover
わたし watashi  I, me
受け取る uketoru receive
せいで seide because of
だれ dare someone
ごめんなさい gomennasai  I’m sorry
連絡れんらくする renraku suru contact
べき beki must do, should do

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