会話 · kaiwa

Japanese phrases that people actually use

Five hundred everyday phrases, each with its reading, its meaning and —what almost never comes with them— when it is said and to whom. Because in Japanese, saying the right thing at the wrong moment sounds worse than saying nothing.

Five hundred phrases with their reading, their audio and the «when it is used» of each one.

What makes these phrases different

Any phrase list gives you the Japanese and the translation. That is enough to read them and not enough to say them: «thank you» has half a dozen forms in Japanese, and picking the wrong one is not a nuance, it is sounding odd or even rude.

That is why every phrase here carries two more fields: the situation it is said in and its register. Register is not tone —it is the form of the verb—, and in Japanese it changes depending on who you are talking to: you do not speak to a friend the way you speak to a customer.

They are sorted into real situations: greetings, food, shopping, transport, health, emergencies, work, introductions. You can search them by meaning, by reading or by the phrase itself, and every one of them can be heard.

Each phrase comes with the Japanese script, the kana reading, the romaji, the meaning, when it is used, the situation and the register. None of it is typed twice: the romaji is worked out from the reading.

A sample, one per situation

These phrases are inside the course exactly as you see them here. One has been taken from each situation so that you see the range, and not fourteen from the same section.

おはようございます

ohayougozaimasu

Good morning

Until mid-morning. Among friends it shortens to おはよう, and at work it's used at any hour when you first arrive.

greetings polite

おやすみなさい

oyasuminasai

Good night (going to bed)

Only when parting to sleep. Within the family it stays おやすみ.

farewells polite

おかげさまで

okagesamade

Fine, thanks (thanks to you)

Modest reply when asked how you are or how something is going. It credits your good fortune to the other person.

courtesy polite

はじめまして

hajimemashite

Nice to meet you

Only the first time you meet someone. Usually followed by your name and よろしくお願いします.

introductions polite

いただきます

itadakimasu

Enjoy your meal (before eating)

Always said before the first bite, even eating alone. It thanks the cook and the food itself.

food neutral

いくらですか

ikuradesuka

How much is it?

The universal shopping question. Pointing, これはいくらですか is enough.

shopping neutral

駅はどこですか

えきはどこですか

ekihadokodesuka

Where is the station?

The most useful question of the trip. Swap 駅 for whatever you're looking for.

directions neutral

切符はどこで買えますか

きっぷはどこでかえますか

kippuhadokodekaemasuka

Where do I buy the ticket?

At the station machines, nearly all with an English option.

transport neutral

チェックインをお願いします

ちぇっくいんをおねがいします

chekkuinwoonegaishimasu

I'd like to check in

In hotels, usually from 3 pm.

accommodation polite

入場料はいくらですか

にゅうじょうりょうはいくらですか

nyuujouryouhaikuradesuka

How much is admission?

入場料 is the admission price to a museum or venue.

travel neutral

助けてください

たすけてください

tasuketekudasai

Help me!

The emergency phrase. Shouted, anyone understands you need help.

emergencies neutral

気分が悪いです

きぶんがわるいです

kibungawaruidesu

I feel unwell

General malaise, not a specific pain.

health neutral

はい

hai

Yes

Also works as "I'm listening" on the phone and "present" at roll call.

conversation neutral

嬉しいです

うれしいです

ureshiidesu

I'm happy

Joy at something specific that happened.

feelings neutral

The four registers

The same idea is said in four ways depending on who you are talking to, and what changes is the form of the verb. Choosing the register is half of speaking Japanese.

formal

For customers and the boss. Honorific and humble verbs: it is not just being polite, it is raising the other person and lowering yourself.

polite

t.frases-en-japones.reg.polite

neutral

t.frases-en-japones.reg.neutral

casual

t.frases-en-japones.reg.casual

The situations they cover: accommodation · meeting up · food · shopping · conversation · courtesy · farewells · directions · emergencies · study · family · opinions · requests · introductions · health · greetings · feelings · phone · weather · work · transport · travel

The phrases, in depth

The set phrases of every day

A good part of everyday Japanese is made of fixed formulas that are said at particular moments and do not translate word for word. いただきます is said before eating and ごちそうさまでした on finishing, and both give thanks for the food. いってきます is said when leaving home, something like «I'm off, and I'll be back», and whoever stays behind answers いってらっしゃい. On coming back you say ただいま, and the reply is おかえりなさい. Not saying them is not a grammar mistake, but it stands out as much as not saying hello when you walk in.

At work the formula par excellence is お疲れ様です, which refers to the other person's tiredness and works as a greeting between colleagues, as a goodbye at the end of the day and as thanks for an effort. With a superior you use お疲れ様です or お疲れ様でした, and not ご苦労様, which is said from the top down; among friends お疲れ is enough. What is handy about these phrases is that you do not have to build them: you learn them whole, with their situation, and use them from the first week. That is why the ones in the course have written down when they are said.

Saying sorry and saying thank you

Apologies come in steps. ごめん is between friends; ごめんなさい, with family or someone close; すみません is the all-purpose one, with strangers and out in the street; and 申し訳ありません, or 申し訳ございません, is the formal one, for work and customer service. すみません also serves to get someone's attention and to thank someone for a favour that put them to some trouble: it acknowledges the trouble before giving thanks, and that is why it sometimes takes the place of «thank you».

Something similar happens with thanks. ありがとう is the short form, for friends and family; ありがとうございます, the polite one; and どうも, on its own, is a brief and somewhat casual thanks that works in a shop. There is a nuance of time worth knowing: for something that is already over, the past is usually used, ありがとうございました, when leaving a shop or once some help has come to an end. And in reply to thanks, the usual thing is not a solemn «you are welcome» but playing it down: いいえ, or どういたしまして, which sounds somewhat more formal.

What you say while you listen

In a Japanese conversation the listener does not stay silent: they keep slipping in small responses that show they are following. These are called aizuchi, and the most common are はい and ええ, «yes, I'm with you»; そうですね, «that's right»; なるほど, «I see»; and 本当ですか, «really?». They are short on purpose: they do not take the turn away from the speaker, they keep them company. A silent listener seems distracted or uncomfortable, so getting used to putting them in is part of speaking well, even though they come far more often than in English.

The detail that confuses foreigners is that はい, said like that, does not always mean «yes, I agree»: often it only means «I am listening». And a direct «no» is avoided: to turn something down, people prefer formulas that leave the sentence hanging, like ちょっと…, «it's a bit…», or 考えておきます, «I'll think about it». Understanding that this is already an answer saves a lot of misunderstandings, and using them yourself makes a refusal sound polite rather than blunt.

How to learn phrases so they come out by themselves

A phrase is not learned when you recognise it, but when it comes out by itself in its situation. To get there you have to practise it in both directions: from Japanese to English, which is understanding, and from English to Japanese, which is producing and takes quite a lot more. It helps to say it out loud every time, picturing the scene, and to learn it whole, with its particle and its ending, rather than putting it together piece by piece. And to review it at spaced intervals: the next day, a few days later, a week later.

That is what the Common phrases section of Hanasuka does. You search them by meaning, by reading or by the Japanese text, and filter them by situation, by register and by what you have already mastered. The quiz goes in both directions, choosing or typing, and the decoys come from the same situation, so you cannot get it right by elimination. When you get one wrong you see the whole phrase with its «when it is used» and can hear it slowly. And whatever you study goes into the daily review.

How they are practised here

You know a phrase when it comes out by itself in the right situation, and for that you have to practise it in both directions.

Listing and search

500

All five hundred, searchable by meaning, reading or Japanese text, with a correct-answer counter on each phrase so you know which ones you have down.

Quiz in both directions

From Japanese to English —recognising— and from English to Japanese —producing, which is three times harder—. The decoys come from the same situation, so you cannot get it right by elimination.

And they come back by themselves

The ones you study go into spaced repetition and turn up again when you are due to forget them, not before.

Questions about the phrases

What are the first phrases you need to know in Japanese?

Greetings and courtesy —good morning, thank you, sorry, please—, ordering in a restaurant and asking where something is. With those you can get through a whole trip. What matters is not the list, it is knowing which register each one belongs to.

Why are there so many ways to say «thank you»?

Because Japanese marks, in the verb itself, the distance to whoever is listening. Thanking a friend is not the same as thanking a customer, and using the wrong form does not sound like a language mistake but like a social one. That is why every phrase in this course has its register written down.

Is there any point learning phrases on their own, without grammar?

To survive a trip, yes. To speak, no: without grammar you cannot build new sentences, only repeat the ones you have learned. What works is doing both at once, and that is why the phrases here sit right next to the theory course and not in a different app.

Do the phrases come with audio?

All of them, with the Japanese voice of your own device, and with a second, slower speed for when the phrase is long. In the voice settings you can choose which of the installed voices is used, and that is what makes the biggest difference to how it sounds.

What does よろしくお願いします mean?

It has no direct translation. It is said when introducing yourself, meaning something like «nice to meet you, I am counting on you», and when asking for something or starting to work with someone, meaning «I leave it in your hands» or «thanks in advance». What it expresses is trust in a relationship that is starting or carrying on, and that is why it is used so much.

How do you ask for something in Japanese?

With ください after what you want, marked with を: 水をください, «water, please». For something offered as a service, like the bill or a dish, お願いします sounds more natural: お会計お願いします. And to ask someone to do something you use the て-form of the verb: 待ってください, «please wait».

How do you say «good morning», «good afternoon» and «good evening»?

おはようございます in the morning, こんにちは during the day and こんばんは when you arrive somewhere in the evening. When saying good night before going to bed you say おやすみなさい, which is not a greeting but a «sleep well». Among friends they get shortened: おはよう, おやすみ. The final は of こんにちは and こんばんは is pronounced «wa».

What do you say when you walk into a shop or a restaurant?

Usually nothing: it is the staff who say いらっしゃいませ, «welcome», and no reply is expected; a gesture or a slight bow is enough. To call the waiter you say すみません, and when leaving a restaurant it is customary to say ごちそうさまでした, which gives thanks for the meal.

Keep going

Speaking Japanese: the part that hardly ever gets practised

Hear the phrase, say it, and have something tell you whether you said it right.

Japanese grammar: not difficult, just different

The verb at the end and the particles in charge. The full syllabus, unit by unit.

Katakana: the Japanese for what comes from abroad

The angular syllabary. Loanwords, foreign names and onomatopoeia are written with it.

Practise the 500 phrases with audio

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