Nanbo yattemo wakarahen wa!
e: Ikura yattemo wakaranai yo!
No matter how many times I try to do it, I still don’t understand!
w: Nanbo demo motte kite.
e: Ikura demo motte kite kudasai.
Bring as many as you feel like.
w: Nanbo nandemo aisu kuriimu gurai kōte kuretemo ēn chau?
e: Ikura nandemo aisu kuriimu gurai katte kuretemo iin ja nai?
Don’t you think that you could at least buy some ice cream for me?
w: Nanbo nandemo sore wa hidoi wa.
e: Ikura nandemo sore wa hidoi desu.
That’s absolutely horrible.
GREETINGS
If you walk into a little mom-and-pop shop around Kyōto, you’ll probably be greeted with oideyasu rather than the standard irasshai. And when you leave you will probably hear maido or ōkini rather than the standard arigatō gozaimasu.
w: Maido, ōkini!
e: Domo arigatō gozaimasu!
Thank you very much!
Maido literally means “every time,” but carries the nuance of “always at your service.” Ōkini means “thank you,” and sounds friendlier than arigatō gozaimasu.
w: Oideyasu!/Yō okoshi!/Okoshiyasu!
e: Irasshai!
Come in! Welcome!
w: Gomenyasu.
e: Gomen kudasai.
Anybody home?/Sorry to trouble you.
This is said, for example, when you are calling in the front door in hopes that somebody is in.
w: Hisashiburi ya ne.
e: Hisashiburi desu ne.
Long time no see.
w: Ē tenki ya ne.
e: Ii tenki desu ne.
Nice day, isn’t it.
The expressive particles na and ne can be used interchangeably. Na sounds a lot tougher than ne, and its use is frowned upon by delicate people. Be that as it may, both men and women use na all the time in Western japan, much more so than in Tōkyō.
w: Sunmahen./Sunmasen.
e: Sumimasen./Suimasen.
Excuse me.
Sunmahen is not considered to be as polite as sumimasen. It is very effective, however, when you need people out of the way in a hurry, like when you are trying to shove your way out of a packed train.
Os, Ya, and Oi are common informal greetings in both Western and Eastern Japanese. Os has a tough air of comradery. It is used among teammates and the like, although teenage girls also use it. Ya would be used, for example, when some people see their colleagues sitting at another table in a pub. Konban wa would sound too formal in such a situation. Oi would be used when you see a kid stealing your bike across the street.
w/e: Konnichiwa. /Konbanwa.
Good day./Good evening.
w: Ohayō./Ohayōsan dosu.
e: Ohayō gozaimasu.
Good morning.
w/e: Oyasumi./Oyasuminasai.
Good night.
HOW ARE YOU?
Like people the world over, the Japanese exchange greetings with people they know. However, unlike Americans, Japanese rarely say hello to people they pass on the street unless they have actually met them.
w: Genki ka?
e: Genki?
Feeling good?
w/e: Mm! Genki yo!
Yeah, I’m feeling great!
w: Genki ya.
e: Genki da yo.
I’m fine.
w: Nanka kawatta koto atta ka?
e: Nanika kawatta koto atta?
Anything new happened recently?
w: Nanka attan ka?/Nanka attan chau?
e: Nanika atta no?
Is something the matter?
w/e: Betsu ni (nani mo).
Nothing’s wrong.
w/e: Betsu ni nan demo nai.
Nothing in particular (is bothering me).
w: Betsu ni kamahen.
e: Betsu ni kamawanai.
I don’t care./O.K. whatever.
w/e: Ma./Mā ne./Mā na.
Nothing worth mentioning.
w: Donai shitotten? ♂/ Donai shitetan?
e: Dō shiteta?
How’ve you been?
w: Aitsu donai shiten nen? ♂/Ano ko doshiten no? ♀
e: Dō shiten dai? ♂/Aitsu (ano hito, kare) dō shiteru?
How’s he doing?
w: Do shitan?/Nanka attan?
e: Dō shitan da? ♂/Dō shita no?
What’s the matter?
w: Nani yattottan?/Nani yattotten?
e: Nani yatteta?
What were you doing?/What have you been doing?
w: Nani hanashitotten?/Nani hanashitottan?
e: Nani o hanashiteta no?
What were you talking about?/ What have you been talking about?
w: Daijōbu ya.
e:
