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Basic Japanese Phrases

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109 views8 pages

Basic Japanese Phrases

Uploaded by

theresamaebedayo
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Basic Japanese Phrases

Hai. Yes.
はい。
Iie. No.
いいえ。
Onegai shimasu. Please.
おねがいします。
Arigatou. Thank you.
ありがとう。
Douitashimashite. You're welcome.
どういたしまして。
Sumimasen. Excuse me.
すみません。
Gomennasai. I am sorry.
ごめんなさい。
Ohayou gozaimasu. Good morning.
おはようございます。
Konbanwa. Good evening.
こんばんは。
Oyasumi nasai. Good night.
おやすみなさい。
いい天気ですね！(Ii tenki desu ne: “Good weather, huh!”)
久しぶり！(Hisashiburi: “Long time, no see!”)
じゃまた (Ja Mata: “See you later” or “Goodbye”)
ただいまー (Tadaima-: “I’m home”)
おかえりなさい (Okaeri nasai: “Welcome home” or “Welcome back”)
失礼します (Shitsurei shimasu: “Please excuse me (for leaving)”)
お疲れ様でした (Otsukaresama deshita: “Thanks for your hard work”)
行ってきます (Ittekimasu: “I’m going”)
行ってらっしゃい (Itterasshai: “Go and come back”)

Japanese Phrases for Meeting


and Greeting
Eigo o hanasemasu ka. Do you speak English?
えいごをはなせますか。
Koko ni eigo o hanaseru hito wa imasu ka. Does anyone here speak English?
ここに えいごおはなせるひとはいますか。
Watashi wa nihongo ga sukoshi shika hanasemasen. I only speak a little
Japanese.
わたしは にほんごがすこししか はなせません。
Onamae wa nan desu ka. What is your name?
おなまえはなんですか。
Watashi no namae wa Kaori desu. My name is Kaorii.
わたしのなまえは かおりです。
Ogenki desu ka. How are you?
おげんきですか。
Genki desu. I'm fine. Thank you.
げんきです。
Oaidekite ureshii desu. I am very glad to meet you.
おあいできて うれしいです。
Wakarimasen. I don't understand.
わかりません。
Nante iimashita ka. What did you say?
なんていいましたか。
Motto yukkuri hanashite kudasai. Can you speak more slowly?
もっと ゆっくりはなしてください。
Yoku wakarimasu. I understand you perfectly.
よくわかります。

Japanese Dialog
Sumisu- Ohayou gozaimasu. Good morning.
san:
おはようございます。
Eigo o hanasemasu ka. Do you speak English?
えいごをはなせますか。
Ten-in: Sumimasen. I'm sorry.
すみません。
Eigo wa hanasemasen. I do not speak English.
えいごは はなせません。
Sumisu- Watashi wa nihongo ga sukoshi shika
san: hanasemasen. Unfortunately, I speak only a little Japanese.
わたしは にほんごがすこししかはなせません。
Ten-in: Dai joubu desu. That's all right.
だいじょうぶです。
Wakarimasu. I understand you.
わかります。

Basic Japanese Words and Phrases for All


Situations
 ありがとうございます (arigatou gozaimasu): “Thank you”
 ごめんなさい (gomen nasai): “I’m sorry”
 はい or うん (Hai or un): “Yes” (formal and informal)
 いいえ or ううん (iie or uun): “No” (formal and informal)
 名前は_ (namae wa _): “My name is _”
 _ です。(desu): “I am”
 いいですよ。(ii desu yo): “It’s good.”
 だめです。(dame desu): “It’s bad.”
 もう一度お願いします。(mou ichido onegai shimasu): “Again, please.”
 ゆっくりお願いします (yukkuri onegai shimasu): “More slowly, please”
 わかりません (wakarimasen): “I don’t understand”
 良かった (yokatta): “Great!” or “I’m glad!”
 すみません (sumimasen): “Excuse me”
 どういたしまして (Douitashimashite): “You’re welcome”
 少し日本語を話します (Sukoshi nihongo wo hanashimasu): “I speak a little
Japanese”
 また会いましょう (Mata aimashou): “Let’s meet again!”

Please in Japanese: どうぞ、お願いします、ください (Douzo, Onegai


Shimasu, Kudasai)
The word for “please” changes with intent.

どうぞ (douzo) is the most straight forward. You use this word when you are
offering something to someone else. Like, “お先にどうぞ” (osaki ni douzo: “Please,
you first” or “Please, after you”).

お願いします (onegai shimasu) and ください (kudasai) are almost interchangeable but
have different formality.

お願いします is used to ask a request of someone with higher status than you, or
for a service (because those offering services are usually considered to have
higher status). So if you make a request of your boss, or take a taxi ride, you
would use お願いします.

ください is used when you ask a request of someone close to you, like a friend,
or when what you ask for is expected, like when ordering at a restaurant.

You also use ください whenever the verb it follows is in て-form, like ちょっと待ってくださ
い (chotto matte kudasai: “please wait”), no matter the formality.
Japanese Questions to Boost Your
Conversation
With any question word, you can use a raised inflection at the last syllable to
express that it’s a question. But, more formally, you can add the Japanese
equivalent of a question mark: ですか (desu ka).

Let’s start with the basics:

誰 (dare): “Who?”
 何 (nani or nan): “What?”
 いつ (itsu): “When?”
 どこ (doko): “Where?”
 どうして (doushite): “Why?”
 どう (dou): “How?”
 どちら? (dochira): “Which?”
Learn more: Japanese Question Words: “What”, “Where”, “When”, “Who”,
“How” and “Why” in Japanese

And more helpful Japanese questions:

 お名前は何ですか (o-namae wa nan desu ka): “What’s your name?”


 いくらですか (ikura desu ka): “How much Is It?”
 わかりますか (wakarimasu ka): “Do you understand?”
 はどこですか (__ wa doko desu ka): “Where is the _?”
 これは何ですか (kore wa nan desu ka): “What’s this?”
 これは何意味ですか (kore wa nan imi desu ka): “What does this mean?”
 日本語で_は何ですか (nihongo de _ wa nan desu ka): “What is _ in Japanese?”
 英語を話せますか (eigo wo hanasemasu ka): “Can you speak English?”
 何って言ったの (nani tte itta no): “What did you say?”
 _ がありますか (_ ga arimasu ka): “Do you have __?”
 大丈夫ですか (daijoubu desu ka): “Are you okay?”
 どうしたんだ (doushitanda): “What happened?”
 E-メール／電話番号を教えてもらえますか (e-meru/denwa bango wo oshiete
moraemasu ka): “Could I have your email address/phone number?”
 _ を利用しますか (* wo riyou shimasu ka*): “Do you use _?”
 いつは会えますか (Itsu wa aemasu ka): “When can we meet?”
Some Cute and Cool Japanese Words to Level
Up Your Speech
What are some cool Japanese words? I’m glad you asked! Use these
Japanese slang words to sound cool in Japanese.

かわいい (Kawaii: “Cute”)


You probably know this one, as it’s become a staple of otaku in America, but
it’s very common in Japan too. Everything is “kawaii.”

かっこいい (Kakkoii: “Cool”)


Also, “handsome.” It’s mostly used to describe dreamy guys or cool objects.

すごい！(Sugoi: “Wow!” or “Amazing!”)


I promise you, if you reply すごい (sugoi) to most everything that has a positive
tone and body language, you'll sound like a native.

This is hands down the most overused word in Japanese, and it’s a reply to
everything. In fact, you’ll probably hear “すごい!” in reply to your attempt to speak
Japanese!

ヤバい (Yabai: “Uncool”)


The opposite of すごい, this means something is uncool or terrible.

ちょ、めっちゃ、とっても (Cho, Meccha, Tottemo: “Very,” “Super”)


Depending on the dialect, you’ll hear one of these three words to say
something is “very __.” とっても (tottemo) is most standard, and the small つ (tsu)
means it has extra emphasis.

マジで (Maji de: “Seriously,” “Really”)


Like ちょ (cho), マジ (maji) is used as an intensifier, but this one is more
masculine.
うそ! (Uso!: “No way!”)
It actually means “a lie,” but it’s used as “no way!” in casual conversation
when you hear something unbelievable.

ばか！ (Baka!: “Idiot!”)


Is “baka” a bad word? Well… It certainly isn’t nice. ばか (baka) in Japanese
means “idiot”, but it’s pretty strong.

Japanese don’t use cuss words as freely as other countries, so calling


someone this to their face is a big insult.

Similarly, if you’re wondering how do you say “asshole” in Japanese? Well,


you can say あほ (aho, “stupid”) which is an even stronger form of ばか and has a
nuance of meaning a “dumbass” or “asshole.”

But there’s also 下衆野郎 (gesu yarou) which means exactly that: “asshole.”

So, in case you felt like offending someone in Japanese today, now you’re
prepared. (But please don’t!)

よし (Yoshi: “OK!”)
A common question is: “What is OK in Japanese?” Because there are a few
versions, and it’s a bit confusing!

First, there’s よし (yoshi), pronounced more like “yosh” than “Yoshi” the video
game character.

It’s used as an exclamation, like “Okay, let’s do this!”

Then there’s オーケー (o-ke-). It’s used to respond to someone, just like in
English. You’ll often hear “オーケーです” (o-ke- desu), which means “OK / Got it /
It’s okay.”

Last, there’s まあまあ (maamaa). This means “okay” but in the sense that you’re
“so-so.”

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