such as desu will sound very weak.
1 Always remember to remove your shoes before entering someone’s home. Before stepping on tatami matting, slippers must also be removed. Slippers must be changed when going to the toilet. Remember not to leave the toilet still wearing the toilet slippers, as it would be very embarrassing!
2 Always make sure that you do not have any holes in your socks or tights, as you may have to take your shoes off unexpectedly.
3 Shaking hands is uncommon in Japan; Japanese people greet each other by bowing. However, foreigners are sometimes greeted with a handshake.
4 Sumimasen is a word with many purposes: it can be used to attract someone’s attention before making a request, or to get past people on a crowded train. It can also be used to say ‘sorry’.
5 Credit cards are only accepted in the more expensive hotels, shops and restaurants.
6 If you receive a gift from a Japanese visitor, ask if you can open it before doing so. If you are invited to a Japanese person’s house, make sure you take a gift-wrapped present with you.
7 You can only buy cigarettes and alcohol if you are over 20 years of age. You will be asked to produce ID to prove your age.
8 Japanese people tend not to use assertive words such as ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Good alternatives are ii desu ne, which literally means ‘that sounds good’, for ‘yes’ and chotto for ‘no’.
9 Cleanliness is important to Japanese people. Never drop or leave rubbish.
10 It’s advisable that you carry proof of identity at all times, so make sure that you always have your passport with you.
In Japanese there is no exact equivalent for the word ‘hello’ – different greeting words are used based on the time of the day. Similarly, the word chotto (whose literal meaning is ‘a bit’) is influenced by body language: if said with one’s head slightly tilted, it means ‘no’.
| Hello | こんにちはkonnichiwa |
| Good morning | おはようございますohayoo gozaimasu |
| Good evening | こんばんはkombanwa |
| Good night | おやすみなさいoyasuminasai |
| Goodbye | さようならsayoonara |
| See you later | じゃまたja mata |
| See you tomorrow | また明日mata ashita |
| How are you? | お元気ですかogenki desu ka? |
| Fine, thanks | はい､元気ですhai, genki desu |
| And you, Mr/Ms...? | ...さんは...san wa? |
| Please | お願いしますonegai shimasu |
| Thank you | ありがとう (ございます)arigatoo (gozaimasu) |
| You’re welcome | どういたしましてdoo itashimashite |
| Excuse me! | ごめんなさいgomennasai! |
| Sorry! | すみませんsumimasen! |
| Yes | はいhai |
| No | いいえiie |
| Um... | ちょっと…chotto... |
| Yes, please | はい、お願いしますhai, onegai shimasu |
| No, thanks | いいえ、結構ですiie, kekkoo desu |
| Sir… | …氏…shi |
| Mr…/Madam…/Mrs…/Ms…/Miss… | …さん…san |
| I don’t understand | わかりませんwakarimasen |
| I don’t speak Japanese | 私は日本語を話せませんwatashi wa nihongo o hanasemasen |
| England/English | イングランド／イングランド人ingurando/ingurando-jin |
| Scotland/Scottish | スコットランド／スコットランド人sukottorando/sukottorando-jin |
| Wales/Welsh | ウェールズ／ウェールズ人weeruzu/weeruzu-jin |
| Ireland/Irish | アイルランド／アイルランド人airurando/airurando-jin |
| USA/American | アメリカ／アメリカ人amerika/amerika-jin |
| Australia/Australian | オーストラリア／オーストラリア人oosutoraria/oosutoraria-jin |
Bowing おじぎ ojigi
Japanese people bow to express their respect and appreciation. People bow along with greetings, words of appreciation or apologies. The strength of the respect, gratitude or apology, dictates how low your bow should be.
There are no genders, articles or singular/plural forms in Japanese. Different counters are used together with numbers.
| museum | 美術館bijutsukan |
| the station | 駅eki |
| the shops | 店mise |
| the houses | 家ie/uchi |
| a/one | 一つhitotsu |
| a ticket | チケット一枚chiketto ichimai |
| one stamp | 切手一枚kitte ichimai |
| a room | 一部屋hito heya |
| one bottle | 一本ippon |
| some (countable) | いくつかikutsuka |
| some (uncountable) | いくらかikuraka |
| some wine | ワインいくらかwain ikuraka |
| some fruit | フルーツいくつかfuruutsu ikutsuka |
| some biscuits | ビスケットいくつかbisuketto ikutsuka |
| Do you have…? | …はありますか…wa arimasu ka? |
| Do you have a timetable? | 時刻表はありますかjikokuhyoo wa arimasu ka? |
| Do you have a room? | 部屋はありますかheya wa arimasu ka? |
| Do you have milk? | 牛乳はありますかgyuunyuu wa arimasu ka? |
| I/We’d like to… | …(動詞) たいです…(verb) tai desu |
| I/We’d like… | …(名詞) をお願いします…(noun) o onegai shimasu |
| I’d like an ice cream | アイスクリームをお願いしますaisukuriimu o onegai shimasu |
| We’d like to go home | 家に帰りたいですie ni kaeritai desu |
| Another… | …おかわり…okawari |
| Some more… | …もう少し…moo sukoshi |
| Some more bread | パン、もう少しpan moo sukoshi |
| Another Japanese tea | お茶、おかわりocha okawari |
| Another beer | ビール、おかわりbiiru okawari |
| Some more water | お水、もう少しomizu moo sukoshi |
| How much is it? | これはいくらですかkore wa ikura desu ka? |
| large | 大きいookii |
| small | 小さいchiisai |
| with | とto |
| without | 抜きでnukide |
| Where is/are…? | …はどこですか… wa doko desu ka? |
| Where
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