New Apartment
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Ivan
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Todd
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Todd: Do you have a good apartment in Japan?
Ivan: I got one now. Yeah, it's a 2DK.
Todd: Yeah, what does 2DK mean?
Ivan: It's smaller than the 2LDK. it's got a kitchen and two rooms.
Todd: Oh, really? 2LDK, maybe that it's like living room, dining room, kitchen, all in one.
Ivan: I don't know.
Todd: So anyway, what's it like?
Ivan: It's better than my old place. I used to live in what's called a "Gaijin house" which is just a shared apartment. I had a 6 mat room and a shared bathroom. Now I have two 8 mat rooms and my own bathroom and a kitchen with 4 burners, instead of 2.. yeah.
Todd: Oh wow, so you're in your new place now?
Ivan: Yeah, I'm in my new place now. Actually, the old place was owned by a company, they owned the land and this really, really, awful woman owned the building, so I rented a room from the woman. I woke up one morning and the manager was putting stuff in.. was putting flyers in people's mailboxes. I took a look at the flyer. The flyer was saying that the company was going to destroy the building within a month period so they were warning us to get out. Well, the manager was busy taking these flyers so that the people inside the apartment wouldn't see it and move out. She wanted to get one more month of rent from us. So I took my flyer and I went down to the company that owned the land and said, "Where can I live now? You're making us leave in a month." He said, " Oh, I feel really bad about what you told me happened, so he gave me this 2DK which is normally 120,000 a month for 60,000 with no key money and no deposit.
Todd: Wow! That's nice.
Ivan: Yeah, I got lucky.
all in one
My place was like living room, dining room, and kitchen all in one.
We use the phrase 'all in one' to show that something is combination of many things. Notice the following:
- This is shampoo, conditioner and body wash all in one.
- It's like a scarf, a blanket and a jacket all in one.
shared
I used to live in a shared apartment, and we had a shared bathroom.
A 'shared' apartment is one that you live in with other people who are not part of your family. This means that the kitchen, the bathrooms and the living room are used by other people. Notice the following:
- Each room has its own bathroom, but there is a shared kitchen.
- Most people live in shared houses in university.
took a look
I took a look at the flyer in my mailbox.
When you 'take a look' at something you view or look at it and read its contents or study it. Notice the following:
- You should get a dentist to take a look at your tooth.
- Will you take a look at this problem and tell me what you think?
get out
The flyer was to warn us that we needed to get out.
If you have to 'get out' of a place you need to leave there soon or immediately. This is not a polite way to tell someone to leave and it shows that you are angry or the situation is dangerous. Notice the following:
- Get out of here! There's a fire in the building!
- I told him to get out of my house.
key money and deposit
They gave me the place with no key money and deposit.
'Key money' or a 'deposit' are basically the same thing. They are advanced rent or money given as security to someone you rent a house or apartment from. This is in case you damage the place or decide to leave quickly and break your contract. The landlord returns this money at the end of your contract if there is no damage to the house. Notice the following:
- I should get my deposit back at the end of next week.
- The landlord required one month's rent as the security deposit.
Vocabulary Quiz
get out • deposit
