Expert: Dreams - 1/8/2009

Question
QUESTION: My Godfather has had a stroke. I want to call his house and ask wife "how is he feeling" "Is he able to speak better" and give her the option of good, not so good, bad.

ANSWER: Hello,

I'm sorry to hear that, and I hope he pulls through all right.

In polite speech, you could say:

How is he feeling?
[His name] ga go-kibun wa ikaga desu ka?
[His name]がご気分はいかがですか？

She might say...
Kibun ga ii/yoku narimasu.
(He's feeling good/better.)
気分がいい/良くなります。

Is he able to speak better?
(more literally, "Is his ability to speak getting better?")
Hanasu-nouryoku wa yoku natte imasu ka?
話す能力は良くなっていますか？

It sounds silly, but there are different ways to say 'good', 'not so good' and 'bad' depending on what the context is. I assume you just want to say something along the lines of 'that's good' or 'that's bad'?

In that context, you can say:

Good.
Ii desu.
いいです。

Not so good.
Yokunai desu.
良くないです。

Bad.
Mazui desu.
まずいです。

I hope that helps~
Dreams

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Could you please add the phonetic pronunciation to the phrases? When I referred to god, not so good etc. it is in the context of giving her a choice: he is doing good, he is the same, etc. You have been very helpful!

Answer
Hello,

Oh, I see! Then the answers would be a little different.
If you asked:

How is he feeling?
[His name] ga go-kibun wa ikaga desu ka?
[His name] gah goh-kee-buhn wah ee-kah-gah day-soo kah?

You could add the following. You don't need to repeat "kibun ga" every time if you've already asked how he's doing. "Kibun" is the word for "feeling(s)".

[Kibun ga] ii desu ka?
[Kee-buhn gah] ee-ee day-soo kah?
(Good?)

[Kibun ga] yokunai desu ka?
[Kee-buhn ga] yoh-koo-nigh day-soo kah?
(Not so good?)

[Kibun ga] warui desu ka?
[Kee-buhn gah] wah-roo-ee day-soo kah?
(Bad?)

(Or, these would be what she would say in reply.)

And the phonetics for the last one:

Is he able to speak better?
Hanasu-nouryoku wa yoku natte imasu ka?
Hah-nah-soo noh-r'yoh-koo wah yoh-koo nah-tay ee-mah-soo kah?

Hope that helps,
Dreams