(Possibly) Useful Japanese Phrases

The Japanese language, spoken by approximately 128 million people worldwide, (granted 99.999% of them living in Japan) is an East Asian language belonging to the Japonic language family, (the other members of this family don’t immediately spring to mind) and has been described (by me) as a smooth and beautiful sounding language. A wise man (not me) once said that learning to speak Japanese entirely fluently takes a lifetime plus one day. Casting asunder such slightly pessimistic outlooks, I believe that Japanese is a very learnable language, and a very fun one at that! Due to the constraints of time, and / or my lack of teaching expertise, below is a list of my top 5 most useful Japanese phrases. The word “useful” can very much be a subjective word. After ten plus years though of off and on living in the home of one of the Japonic language family members, and at least that amount of time of awkward social interactions and fumbling around like a modern-day Asia-living Mr.Bean, these phrases often helped me greatly…

No.5 – sumimasen –

“Excuse Me”. “Sorry”

This can be used to say “excuse me” or “sorry” or any of the shades of grey that inhabit the space between those two words. Bumping into a cantankerous salaryman on a crowded train, asking a staff member meekly if my card is declined because I’m broke, or any similar situation, this phrase can be perfectly pragmatic. I use this phrase so often I’m thinking about having a t-shirt made up, or even getting it tattooed across my forehead to save time.

No. 4 – arigato gozaimasu –

“thank you very much.”

It is never a bad idea to say thank you using the most polite way to do so. In a huge city like Tokyo, where time is more valuable than a Hermes Birkin Ginza Tanaka Bag (retail price apparently $1.9million…!! What?!?), taking the time to say thank you can often bring a smile to even the most drained department store worker.

No. 3 – wakarimasen –

“I don’t understand.”

While alternatives to this, when in a social interaction in Japan, might include flailing your arms above our head, screaming incessantly or banging your head against the nearest shoji screen door, it is possibly more astute to use this phrase to be clear to all that you do not understand. 

No. 2 – Watashi  wa ……(insert your country name here)…….. jin desu.

“I am Australian.. I am Canadian… etc” –

The question that you will hear in Japan more than the sound of pachinko parlors blaring a variety of eardrum-destroying sounds, is “Nani jin desu ka?” – meaning “what is your nationality?” Being able to answer this quickly and competently makes for a pleasant interaction.

No. 1 – “……(insert place name)…wa doko desu ka?”

“Where is the …………?”

Perhaps the prevalence of smartphones, google maps, street view and so on, has taken away the need for such an old-fashioned question, but there can be something equal part exciting and daunting about asking a stranger on the street for directions. This may be something that technology has stealthily pickpocketed from our back pocket of magical travel experiences, but I certainly hope this isn’t the case.

This concludes my list of useful Japanese phrases, it’s now time for me to ask the man walking past my window for directions to the nearest convenience store….

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