ga wakarimasu ka?
Do you understand Japanese?
Sukoshi wakarimasu.
I understand a little.
————————— LANGUAGE NOTE —————————
“Nihongo
As you will notice in the recordings, the u after consonants and at the end of words is often silent or suppressed.
Nihongo ga jōzu desu ne.
You speak Japanese very well.
Hontō ni sukoshi dake desu.
Actually, I only speak a little.
まあまあです。
Māmā desu.
It’s so-so.
————————— LANGUAGE NOTE —————————
“Jōzu
Totemo hazukashii desu.
I’m so embarrassed.
————————— CULTURAL NOTE —————————
“Hazukashii
わかりますか。
Wakarimasu ka?
Do you understand?
わかります。
Wakarimasu.
I understand.
わかりません。
Wakarimasen.
I don’t understand.
————————— LANGUAGE NOTE —————————
Another phrase commonly used in place of “Wakarimasu ka? わかりますか” is “Shitte imasu ka? 知っていますか” (Do you know?). To answer, use “Shitte imasu 知っています” (I know) or “Shirimasen 知りません” (I don’t know).
Chotto matte kudasai.
Please wait a second.
はい。
Hai.
OK.
————————— LANGUAGE NOTE —————————
In casual circumstances, only “chotto matte
“Hai はい” means many things and is used quite liberally. It means “yes,” “I understand,” “OK,” or simply acknowledges that the listener is listening to the speaker, like we might nod “uh huh,” “yeah,” etc. when listening to someone.
すみません。
Sumimasen.
ごめんなさい。
Gomennasai.
I’m sorry.
Daijōbu desu.
It’s OK.
————————— CULTURAL NOTE —————————
The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. A Japanese expression signifying that it’s best not to stand out.
Daijōbu desu ka?
Are you OK? (Is everything OK?)
Daijōbu desu.
Mondai arimasen.
No problem. (Everything is fine.)
————————— LANGUAGE NOTE —————————
“Arimasen ありません” is a polite way to negate a sentence. In this case, “mondai 問 題” means “problem,” and “arimasen ありません” means “there isn’t any.”
In casual speech, “ja nai じゃない” negates the sentence.
ありがとう（ございます）。
Arigatō (gozaimasu).
Thank you (very much).
