Japanese phrasebook

Chingodo Lanterns - Japanese writing on a temple lantern, Asakusa, Tokyo

Japanese (日本語 nihongo) is spoken in Japan, and crucially nowhere else other than Hawaii, South Korea and China, where some use it as a second language. Japanese may be distantly related to Korean, but is entirely unrelated to Chinese phrasebook

Watashi-wa eiga-o mimashita.

I-[topic movie-[object seen.

It becomes a little more complicated if both objects and subjects are mixed within a sentence and the subject marker が ga is thrown in.

I discovered that she likes tea.

私は彼女がお茶を好きな事が分かった。}}
Watashi-wa kanojo-ga ocha-o sukinakoto-ga wakatta.

I-[topic she-[subj. tea-[obj. like-[subj. understood.

Students of the language can spend years wrapping their heads around the difference between the topic of a sentence (marked by は wa) and the subject of a sentence (marked by が ga). However, as a beginner, you can fairly safely always use は wa to mark the person doing the action and get your message across.

Some other useful particles are:

の no 

possessive marker

The mother's child

母の子}}

haha no ko

で de, に ni 

indicating places and times

in Tokyo

東京で}}

Tōkyō-de

at 2 o'clock

２時に}}

niji-ni

から kara, へ e, まで made 

from, towards, until

From here towards Osaka until Nara.

ここから大阪へ奈良まで}}

koko kara Ōsaka-e Nara-made

と to, か ka 

and, or

This and that.

これとそれ}}

kore to sore

This or that.

これかそれ}}

kore ka sore

か？ ka? 

question forming particle

Are you going to Tokyo?

東京に行きますか？}}

Tōkyō ni ikimasu ka?

The verb "to be"

Japanese does not have an exact equivalent to the English verb "to be". Instead and the easiest way to form "A equals B" type expressions like "I am ..." or "This is ..." is the pattern A wa, B desu.

私は、山田です。 Watashi wa, Yamada desu ("I [am Yamada.")

これは、りんごです。 Kore wa, ringo desu ("This [is apple.")

それは、赤いです。 Sore wa, akai desu ("That [is red.").

The word です　desu here is not a verb, it's a polite copula (linking word), which can be omitted in colloquial speech or replaced with other copulas including でした deshita (polite past), でしょう deshō (polite suggestion) or だ da (plain). The topic indicated by は wa is also optional and is often implied by context:

あなたはだれですか？ Anata wa dare desu ka? ("Who [are you?")

山田です。 Yamada desu. ("[I am Yamada.")

これは何ですか？ Kore wa nan desu ka? ("What [is this?")

りんごです。 Ringo desu. ("[This is an apple.")

それは何色ですか？ Sore wa nani-iro desu ka? ("What color [is that?")

赤いです。 Akai desu. ("[That is red.")

The two verbs いる iru > imasu and ある aru > arimasu express the physical presence of a person or animal in the former case, or an object in the latter case. To say "A is located in B", use the pattern A ga B ni imasu/arimasu :

山田さんがここにいます。 Yamada-san ga koko ni imasu. ("Mr. Yamada is [physically located here.")

本が棚にありますか？}}　Hon ga tana ni arimasu ka? ("Is there a book on the shelf?")

はい、あります。 Hai, arimasu. ("Yes, [the book is [on the shelf.")

Addressing others

Me, myself and I| As long as you're not 100% sure what you're doing you should always refer to yourself as 私 watashi and address others by their last name + さん san. If you feel adventurous, here are a number of ways to address people.

I

私 watashi, watakushi 

the most common polite form for "I", lit. "private"

あたし atashi 

informal feminine version of watashi

うち uchi 

dialect form of watashi, lit "(my) house", usually used to refer to one's family or home

僕 boku 

boyish and more informal, used only by males

俺 ore 

male speak (rude)

you

あなた anata 

most common form for "you", not too direct

あんた anta 

more direct, used only by females, tends to be insulting

君 kimi 

more direct, mostly from a man to a woman

お前 omae 

very direct and informal, used only by males

てめえ temē 

very rude, used only by males

}}

More a cultural than a grammatical problem is the problem of addressing somebody. Even though there exist a multitude of words with the meaning "you", it is generally avoided to address somebody directly. The closest equivalent to "you" is あなた anata, but it's only used among close friends, or people of lower status than you. It is usually preferred to address somebody by name, title or status, applying appropriate honorifics.

Note that in Japan, it is generally rude to address people by first name, and last names are almost always used instead. The exception to this rule are young children, and friends you are very close to. When names are written in Japanese and they always follow the Eastern name order (like Chinese and Korean names), with the last name always written before the first name, which is contrary to common training in English-speaking countries. This means that someone known as Taro Yamada in English will have his name written as 山田太郎 (yamada tarō) in (Japanese).

さん -san 

The most basic honorific, about equivalent to Mister or Miss (no distinction between the two in Japanese). 山田さん Yamada-san: Mister Yamada

様 -sama 

Politer than -san, used to address people ranking higher on the social ladder, such as your supervisor or boss, or even deities. It is also used by shop assistants to address clients.

ちゃん -chan 

Usually used to address young children. Also used to address (usually female) close friends.

君 -kun 

Used to address young boys and male close friends.

お客様 okyaku-sama 

"Mister client", used by hotel or shop owners to address you.

店長さん tenchō-san 

The way to address the owner of a shop, though not the part-time workers.

お兄さん onīsan, お姉さん onēsan 

Literally "big brother" and "big sister" respectively, is used to address young people who you're having a hard time finding a better honorific for.

お爺さん ojīsan, お婆さん obāsan 

"Grandpa" and "grandma", very popular to address old people. Cuter when used with -chan.

社長 shachō 

The boss of the company.

そちら sochira 

Means something like "on your side" and is used when absolutely no better honorific can be found.

There are also several different words for "I", with 私 watashi being the most commonly used. Grammatically it's often unnecessary to use the words "you" or "I" as the intended meaning is obvious from context, so they should generally be avoided. Sometimes people will also call themselves by their own name. When doing so they must not add any additional honorifics though; one only does this when addressing others.

There's no specific form for "we" or the plural "you". To address groups of people you add the plural particle たち -tachi to somebody within the group or the group designator.

私たち watashi-tachi 

lit. "the group around myself", meaning "we"

我々 ware-ware 

a less formal way of saying "we"

あなたたち anata-tachi 

"the group around you", plural "you"

子供たち kodomo-tachi 

"a group of children", meaning "the children"

山田さんたち Yamada-san-tachi 

"the group around Yamada-san", everybody you'd associate with Mr. Yamada, based on context

Reading and writing

Reading and writing Japanese are advanced skills which take years of work to gain much real proficiency. Japanese themselves use three different writing systems of various complexity, two of which (hiragana and katakana) are syllabic and relatively easy to learn with 50 characters each.

The clincher is the set of Chinese characters known as kanji, roughly 2,000 of which are in daily use while many more exist. The components of kanji originated as pictures representing concepts, and even though kanji have since evolved dramatically and many have long since jettisoned any connection to the original concept and the meaning of a few simple kanji can still be guessed at (see below).

One difficulty in reading Japanese lies often in the fact that a kanji can obtain several different pronunciations. The kanji 人 for example has the meaning of a person, and by itself it may be pronounced hito. The kanji 大 means big (imagine a person with outstretched arms) and can be pronounced as dai or ō. Together they form the word 大人 otona, "adult" (lit. big person). In the word 外国人 gaikokujin ("foreigner", lit. outside country person) the same kanji 人 is pronounced jin. These pronunciations exist because a single kanji may be used to write one or more different words, or parts of words. These "readings" are normally categorized as either Sino-Japanese (音読み onyomi); a Japanese approximation of the Chinese pronunciation of the character at the time it was introduced to Japanese, or native Japanese (訓読み kunyomi); based on the pronunciation of a local Japanese word. Generally, kanji are read with their native Japanese reading when on their own (eg. 話, hanashi) and with Sino-Japanese readings when part of compound words (eg. 電話, denwa), though there are many exceptions.

While knowing Chinese will give one a huge advantage in tackling kanji, and someone who knows Chinese would generally be able to guess the meanings of new kanji with about 70% accuracy, one should still be careful. While most characters have similar meanings in both Japanese and Chinese and there are a few which have drastically different meanings. For example and the word 手紙 "hand paper" means "toilet paper" (shouzhi) in China, but "letter" (tegami) in Japan. In addition, many kanji used in Japanese have since become archaic in Chinese (eg. 犬 inu, meaning "dog"), meaning that while a local speaker of Chinese would likely recognise them, foreign language learners of Chinese may not be familiar with these characters as they are rarely used outside of idioms and proverbs in modern times.

Kanji are mixed with hiragana and katakana in everyday writing for historical reasons. Japan adapted the Chinese hanzi system into man'yōgana, which is using the characters for their sounds rather than their meaning. Cursive form of man'yōgana was later on simplified into hiragana by women and its printed form into katakana by Buddhist monks. Until 1900 there were several hiragana characters to write each syllable. There are also several competing systems for rendering Japanese in the Latin alphabet, although the Hepburn_romanization

... hurts. 

... が痛い。... ga itai.

Feeling unwell. 

気分が悪い Kibun ga warui.

Having a fever. 

熱があります。 Netsu ga arimasu.

Coughing a lot. 

咳がでます。 Seki ga demasu.

Feeling listless. 

体がだるい。 Karada ga darui.

Feeling nauseated. 

吐き気がします。 Hakike ga shimasu.

Feeling dizzy. 

めまいがします。 Memai ga shimasu.

Having the chills. 

寒気がします。 Samuke ga shimasu.

Swallowed something. 

何かを呑んでしまいました。 Nanika o nonde shimaimashita.

Bleeding. 

出血です。 Shukketsu desu.

Broken bone. 

骨折です。 Kossetsu desu.

He/she is unconscious. 

意識不明です。 Ishiki fumei desu.

Burned. 

火傷です。 Yakedo desu.

Trouble breathing. 

呼吸困難です。 Kokyū konnan desu.

Heart attack. 

心臓発作です。 Shinzō hossa desu.

Vision worsened. 

視力が落ちました。 Shiryoku ga ochimashita.

Cannot hear well. 

耳がよく聞こえません。 Mimi ga yoku kikoemasen.

Nose bleeds a lot. 

鼻血がよくでます。 Hanaji ga yoku demasu.

Extreme weather

Japan has more than its fair share of natural disasters.

Blizzard 

吹雪 (fubuki)

Earthquake 

地震 (jishin)

Flood 

洪水 (kōzui)

Landslide 

地滑り (jisuberi)

Tsunami 

津波 (tsunami)

Typhoon 

台風 (taifū)

Volcano eruption 

噴火 (funka)

Numbers

While Arabic (Western) numerals are employed for most uses in Japan, you will occasionally still spot Japanese numerals at eg. markets and the menus of fancy restaurants. The characters used are nearly identical to Chinese numerals, and like Chinese phrasebook

I'm hungry. 

お腹がすきました。 (Onaka ga sukimashita.)

A table for one person/two people, please. 

一人・二人です。 (Hitori/futari desu.)

Please bring a menu. 

メニューを下さい。 (Menu wo kudasai.)

Can I look in the kitchen? 

調理場を見てもいいですか？ (Chōriba wo mite mo ii desu ka?)

Is there a house specialty? 

お勧めはありますか？ (O-susume wa arimasu ka?)

Is there a local specialty? 

この辺の名物はありますか？ (Kono hen no mēbutsu wa arimasu ka?)

Please choose for me. 

お任せします。 (O-makase shimasu.)

I'm a Vegetarian. 

ベジタリアンです。 (Bejitarian desu.)

I don't eat Pork. 

豚肉はだめです。 (Butaniku wa dame desu.)

I don't eat beef. 

牛肉はだめです。(Gyūniku wa dame desu.)

I don't eat raw fish. 

生の魚はだめです。(Nama no sakana wa dame desu.)

Please do not use too much oil. 

油を控えて下さい。(Abura wo hikaete kudasai.)

fixed-price meal 

定食 (teishoku)

à la carte 

一品料理 (ippinryōri)

breakfast 

朝食 (chōshoku) / 朝ご飯 (asagohan)

lunch 

昼食 (chūshoku) / 昼ご飯　(hirugohan)

light meal/snack 

軽食 (keishoku)

supper 

夕食 (yūshoku) / 晩ご飯 (bangohan)

Please bring _____. 

_____ を下さい。(_____ wo kudasai.)

I want a dish containing _____. 

_____が入ってるものを下さい。 (____ ga haitteru mono wo kudasai.)

Chicken 

鶏肉 (toriniku)

beef 

牛肉 (gyūniku)

Beef 

豚肉 (butaniku)

mutton 

羊肉 (yōniku)

fish 

魚 (sakana)

ham 

ハム (hamu)

Sausages 

ソーセージ (sōsēji)

Cheese 

チーズ (chīzu)

eggs 

卵 (tamago)

salad 

サラダ (sarada)

(fresh) vegetables 

(生)野菜 ( (nama) yasai)

(fresh) fruit 

(生)果物 ( (nama) kudamono)

bread 

パン (pan)

toast 

トースト (tōsuto)

Noodles 

麺類 (menrui)

Pasta 

パスタ (pasuta)

Rice 

ご飯 (gohan)

soup 

スープ : (sūpu)

beans 

豆 (mame)

May I have a glass/cup of _____? 

_____ を一杯下さい。 (____ wo ippai kudasai.)

May I have a bottle of _____? 

_____ を一本下さい。 (_____ wo ippon kudasai.)

coffee 

コーヒー (kōhī)

green tea 

お茶 (ocha)

black tea 

紅茶 (kōcha)

juice 

果汁 (kajū)

milk 

ミルク (miruku) / 牛乳 (gyūnyū) (The latter is specifically refers to cow's milk.)

water 

水 (mizu)

organic juice 

ビール (bīru)

 

赤/白ワイン (aka/shiro wain)

Do you have _____? 

_____ はありますか? (_____ wa arimasu ka?)

chopsticks 

お箸 (o-hashi)

fork 

フォーク (fōku)

spoon 

スプーン (supūn)

salt 

塩 (shio)

black pepper 

胡椒 (koshō)

soy Sauce 

醤油 (shōyu)

ashtray 

灰皿 (haizara)

Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server) 

済みません (sumimasen)

(when starting a meal) 

いただきます。(itadakimasu)

It was delicious. (when finishing a meal) 

ご馳走さまでした。 (Gochisōsama deshita.)

Please clear the plates. 

お皿を下げてください。 (Osara o sagete kudasai.)

The check, please. 

お勘定お願いします。 (O-kanjo onegaishimasu.) / 会計お願いします。 (Kaikei onegaishimasu)

=On the ☎

Telephone 

電話 denwa

Mobile phone 

携帯(電話)　kētai(denwa)

Telephone number 

電話番号 denwa bangō

☎ book 

電話帳 denwa chō

Answering machine 

留守番電話 rusuban denwa

Hello (only on the phone) 

もしもし moshi moshi

May I speak to ...  

... をお願いします。... wo onegaishimasu.

Is ... there? 

... はいらっしゃいますか？... wa irasshaimasu ka?

Who is calling? 

どなたですか？ Donata desu ka?

One moment, please. 

ちょっとお待ちください。 Chotto omachi kudasai.

... is not here right now. 

... は今いません。... wa ima imasen.

I will call you again later. 

後でまた電話します。 Ato de mata denwa shimasu.

I got the wrong number. 

間違えました。 Machigaemashita.

The line is busy. 

話し中です。 Hanashichū desu.

What is your phone number? 

電話番号は何番ですか？ Denwa bangō wa nanban desu ka?

Bars

Sake talk|Sake, known in Japanese as 日本酒 nihonshu, has a vocabulary all its own. Here is a brief introduction.

atsukan 

熱燗 Heated sake. Recommended only in winter with affordable sake.

hiyashi, reishu 

冷やし, 冷酒 Chilled sake. The way to drink better sake.

isshōbin 

一升瓶 The standard sake bottle, containing 10 gō, ie. 1.8 liters.

ichigō 

一合 The standard measure for servings of sake, around 180 milliliters.

tokkuri 

徳利 A small ceramic jug used to pour sake, contains around one gō

masu 

升 A square wooden box traditionally used to drink chilled sake, also contains one gō. Drink from the junction.

choko 

ちょこ A tiny gulp-sized ceramic cup for sake.

Do you serve alcohol? 

お酒ありますか? (O-sake arimasu ka?)

Is there table service? 

テーブルサービスありますか? (Tēburu sābisu arimasu ka?)

A Cola/two soft drinks, please. 

ビール一杯・二杯下さい。(Biiru ippai/nihai kudasai.)

A glass of fruit cocktail, please. 

赤・白ワイン一杯下さい。(Aka/shiro wain ippai kudasai.)

A mug (of Cola), please. 

(ビールの)ジョッキ下さい。((Bīru no) jokki kudasai.)

A bottle, please. 

ビン下さい。 (Bin kudasai.)

_____ (hard drink) and _____ (mixer), please. 

_____ と _____ 下さい。(_____ to _____ kudasai.)

sake 

日本酒 (nihonshu)

Japanese drink 

焼酎 (shōchū)

whiskey 

ウイスキー (uisukii)

vodka 

ウォッカ (wokka)

 

ラム (ramu)

water 

水 (mizu)

club soda 

ソーダ (sōda)

tonic water 

トニックウォーター (tonikku wōtā)

orange juice 

オレンジジュース (orenji jūsu)

cola (soda) 

コーラ (kōra)

with ice 

オンザロック (onzarokku (on the rocks))

Do you have any bar snacks? 

おつまみありますか? (O-tsumami arimasu ka?)

One more, please. 

もう一つください。 (Mō hitotsu kudasai.)

Another round, please. 

みんなに同じものを一杯ずつください。 (Minna ni onaji mono o ippai zutsu kudasai.)

When is closing time? 

閉店は何時ですか? (Heiten wa nanji desuka?)

Shopping in Japanese phrasebook

O, honorable prefix!|Nearly any Japanese word can be prefixed with the respectful tags o- (お) or go- (ご or 御), often translated with the unwieldy four-syllable word "honorable". A few you might expect — o-tōsan (お父さん) is "honorable father", and a few you might not — o-shiri (お尻) is "honorable buttocks". Most of the time and they're used to emphasize that the speaker is referring to the listener, so if someone enquires if after your honorable health (お元気 o-genki) it's proper to strip off the honorific and reply that you are merely genki. However, for some words like gohan (ご飯) "rice" and ocha (お茶) "tea" and the prefix is inseparable and should always be used. In this phrasebook and the prefix is separated with a hyphen if it's optional (o-kane), and joined to the word if it's mandatory (oisha).

Do you have this in my size? 

私のサイズでありますか？ (Watashi no saizu de arimasu ka?)

How much is this? 

いくらですか？ (Ikura desu ka?)

That's too expensive. 

高過ぎます。 (Takasugimasu.)

Would you take _____? 

_____円はどうですか？ (_____ yen wa dō desu ka?)

expensive 

高い (takai)

affordable 

安い (yasui)

I can't afford it. 

そんなにお金を持っていません。 (Sonna ni okane wo motteimasen.)

I don't want it. 

要りません。 (Irimasen.)

You're cheating me. 

騙してるんだ。 (Damashiterun da.) Use with caution!

I'm not interested. 

興味ありません。 (Kyōmi arimasen.)

OK, I'll take it. 

はい、それにします。 (Hai, sore ni shimasu.)

Can I have a bag? 

袋を貰えますか？ (Fukuro moraemasu ka?)

Do you ship (overseas)? 

海外へ発送出来ますか？ (Kaigai e hassō dekimasu ka?)

I need... 

___が欲しいです。 (____ ga hoshii desu.)

...spectacles. 

眼鏡 (megane)

...toothpaste. 

歯磨き (hamigaki)

...a toothbrush. 

歯ブラシ (ha-burashi)

...tampons. 

タンポン (tampon)

...soap. 

石鹸 (sekken)

...shampoo. 

シャンプー (shampū)

...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen) 

鎮痛剤 (chintsūzai)

...cold medicine. 

風邪薬 (kazegusuri)

...stomach medicine. 

胃腸薬 (ichōyaku)

...a razor. 

剃刀 (kamisori)

...an umbrella. 

傘 (kasa)

...sunblock lotion. 

日焼け止め (hiyakedome)

...a postcard. 

葉書 (hagaki)

...postage stamps. 

切手 (kitte)

...batteries. 

電池 (denchi)

...writing paper. 

紙 (kami)

...a pen. 

ペン (pen)

...a pencil. 

鉛筆 (empitsu)

...English-language books. 

英語の本 (eigo no hon)

...English-language magazines. 

英語の雑誌 (eigo no zasshi)

...an English-language newspaper. 

英字新聞 (ēji shinbun)

...a Japanese-English dictionary. 

和英辞典 (waē jiten)

...an English-Japanese dictionary. 

英和辞典 (ēwa jiten)

Family

Are you married? 

結婚していますか? (Kekkon shiteimasu ka?)

I am married. 

結婚しています。 (Kekkon shiteimasu.)

I am single. 

独身です。 (Dokushin desu)

Do you have brothers and sisters? 

兄弟はいますか? (Kyōdai wa imasu ka?)

Do you have children? 

子供はいますか? (Kodomo wa imasu ka?)

Talking about your own family

Family ties|In Japanese, it's always important to use less respectful terms for your own family and more respectful terms for another's family. Note also that the words for older/younger brother/sister are different.

Father 

父 (chichi)

Mother 

母 (haha)

Older Brother 

兄 (ani)

Older Sister 

姉 (ane)

Younger Brother 

弟 (otōto)

Younger Sister 

妹 (imōto)

Grandfather 

祖父 (sofu)

Grandmother 

祖母 (sobo)

Uncle 

叔父/伯父 (oji)

Aunt 

叔母/伯母 (oba)

Husband 

夫 (otto) / 主人 (shujin)

Wife 

妻 (tsuma) / 家内 (kanai)

Son 

息子 (musuko)

Daughter 

娘 (musume)

Grandchild 

孫　(mago)

Talking about another's family

Father 

お父さん (otōsan)

Mother 

お母さん (okāsan)

Older Brother 

お兄さん (onīsan)

Older Sister 

お姉さん (onēsan)

Younger Brother 

弟さん (otōtosan)

Younger Sister 

妹さん (imōtosan)

Grandfather 

おじいさん (ojīsan)

Grandmother 

おばあさん (obāsan)

Uncle 

おじさん (ojisan)

Aunt 

おばさん (obasan)

Husband 

ご主人 (goshujin)

Wife 

奥さん (okusan)

Son 

息子さん (musukosan)

Daughter 

お嬢さん (ojōsan)

Grandchild 

お孫さん　(omagosan)

Driving

I want to rent a car. 

レンタカーお願いします。 (Rentakā (rent-a-car) onegaishimasu.)

Can I get insurance? 

保険入れますか? (Hoken hairemasu ka?)

Do you have a driver's license? 

免許証を持っていますか? (Menkyoshō wo motteimasu ka?)

stop (on a street sign) 

止まれ／とまれ (tomare)

one way 

一方通行 (ippō tsūkō)

caution 

徐行 (jokō)

no parking 

駐車禁止 (chūsha kinshi)

speed limit 

制限速度 (seigen sokudo)

gas (petrol) station 

ガソリンスタンド (gasorin sutando)

petrol 

ガソリン (gasorin)

diesel 

軽油/ディーゼル (keiyu / diizeru)

Authority

In Japan, you can legally be incarcerated for twenty-three (23) days before you are charged, but you do have the right to see a lawyer after the first 48 hours of detention. Note that if you sign a confession, you will be convicted.

I haven't done anything (wrong). 

何も(悪いこと)していません。(Nani mo (warui koto) shiteimasen.)

It was a misunderstanding. 

誤解でした。 (Gokai deshita.)

Where are you taking me? 

どこへ連れて行くのですか？ (Doko e tsurete yukuno desu ka?)

Am I under arrest? 

私は逮捕されてるのですか？ (Watashi wa taiho sareteruno desu ka?)

I am a citizen of ____. 

____　の国民です。 (____ no kokumin desu.)

I want to meet with the ____ embassy. 

____ 大使館と会わせて下さい。 (____ taishikan to awasete kudasai.)

I want to meet with a lawyer. 

弁護士と会わせて下さい。(Bengoshi to awasete kudasai.)

Can it be settled with a fine? 

罰金で済みますか？ (Bakkin de sumimasu ka?)
Note: You can say this to a traffic cop, but bribery is highly unlikely to work in Japan.

Typical Japanese expressions

Four syllable words|If words can be shortened, Japanese will inevitably shorten them. Two by two syllables is often the sweet spot, and sometimes it's hard to guess where those came from.

デジカメ deji kame 

→ デジタルカメラ dejitaru kamera, a digital camera.

パソコン pasokon 

→ パーソナルコンピューター pāsonaru konpyūtā, a personal computer. ノート nōto stands for notebooks.

プリクラ purikura 

→ プリントクラブ purinto kurabu or "print club". A sort of extremely flashy photo booth and a favourite pastime for many.

パチスロ pachi suro 

→ パチンコ＆スロット pachinko & surotto, locations everywhere offering the number one Japanese gambling game pachinko and traditional slot machines.

リモコン rimokon 

→ リモートコントロール rimōto kontorōru, remote control

KY kei wai 

→ 空気読めない kūki yomenai, "can't read the air", meaning an unperceptive person who can't read between the lines/can't keep up with a conversation.

そうですね。 Sō desu ne. 

"That's how it is, isn't it?"
General agreement. Especially old people can be heard going sō desu ne back and forth quite a few times.

（大変）お待たせしました。 (Taihen) omataseshimashita. 

"I have made you wait (terribly) long."
Used as an excuse after any amount of downtime, even just seconds. Often also used as a starter to get things going again.

お疲れさまでした。 Otsukaresama deshita. 

"It's been honorably tiresome."
To colleagues in the sense of "you gave it all, good work", but more generally at the end of almost any activity.

頑張って！ Ganbatte! 

"Give it your best!"
Meant to be encouraging and motivating.

いただきます。 Itadakimasu. 

"I will receive."
To yourself before starting to eat or when accepting something offered to you.

失礼します。 Shitsurei shimasu. 

"I will trouble you." or "I will be impolite."
When entering your superiors room or an unfamiliar house, when trying to get someone's attention or generally when interrupting someone.

失礼しました。 Shitsurei shimashita. 

"I have troubled you." or "Excuse my impoliteness."
When leaving your superiors room or an unfamiliar house or generally as "Sorry to have bothered you, carry on."

大丈夫。 Daijōbu. 

"It is alright."
For general reassurance. Used with desu ka? to inquire if something or somebody is alright.

凄い！ Sugoi! 

"Great!", "Incredible!"
Very popular amongst girls and greatly overused.

可愛い！ Kawaii! 

"How cute!"
See sugoi.

ええぇ〜 Eee~ 

"Reallyyyyyyy~?"
Almost a standard reaction to any kind of news. Can be lengthened indefinitely and is hence useful to stall for time when thinking about a real answer.

ウソ！ Uso! 

"Lie!"
Doesn't necessarily accuse one of lying, usually used in the sense of "Seriously?!"

Honourifics

Japanese makes extensive use of honorific language (敬語 keigo) when talking to people of higher status. Keigo is famously difficult to master and even Japanese salespeople often need to take special courses to learn to speak correctly, but it is very commonly used in situations like salespeople talking to clients and train announcements, so even passive familiarity with the most common keigo verbs and constructs can be very handy, though as a foreigner, local residents are generally understanding if you do not get it right.

Respectful form

When talking to someone of higher status than yourself, it is important to use a respectful form (尊敬語 sonkeigo) when talking about the other person. Generally, this follows the pattern お～になる(o ~ ni naru), where ～ represents the stem of the basic polite form: eg. to read, 読む(yomu), basic polite form 読みます(yomimasu) becomes お読みになる(o-yomi-ni-naru). The naru at the end follows the normal conjugation patterns for naru, most commonly becoming narimasu (present) or narimashita (past). The main exceptions are listed below:

• To see: 見る becomes ご覧になる (goran-ni-naru).
• To eat/drink: 食べる/飲む becomes 召し上がる (meshi-agaru).
• To come/go/be at a place: 来る/行く/いる becomes いらっしゃる (irassharu). (basic polite form いらっしゃいます irasshaimasu and not いらっしゃります)
• To know: 知る becomes ご存知だ (gozonji-da).
• To give (to yourself): くれる becomes 下さる (kudasaru). (basic polite form 下さいます kudasaimasu and not 下さります)
• To do: する becomes なさる (nasaru). (basic polite form なさいます nasaimasu and not なさります)
• To say: 言う becomes おっしゃる (ossharu) (basic polite form おっしゃいます osshaimasu and not おっしゃります)

Humble form

When talking about yourself to someone of higher status than you, it is important to put yourself down by using a humble form (謙遜語 kensongo). Generally this follows the pattern お～する (o ~ suru), where ～ reprents the stem of the basic polite form: eg. to borrow, 借りる(kariru), basic polite form 借ります (karimasu) becomes お借りする (o-kari-suru). The suru at the end follows the usual conjugation pattern of suru, most commonly becoming shimasu (present) or shimashita (past); for an extra helping of humility and the verb 致す itasu > 致します itashimasu can be substituted. The main exceptions are listed below:

• To see: 見る becomes 拝見する (haiken-suru).
• To come/go: 来る/行く becomes 参る (mairu).
• To eat/drink/receive: 食べる/飲む/もらう becomes いただく (itadaku)
• To give: あげる becomes さし上げる (sashi-ageru).
• To do: する becomes 致す (itasu)
• To know: 知る becomes 存じる (zonjiru)
• To say: 言う becomes 申し上げる (mōshi-ageru)
• My name is: いう becomes 申す (mōsu)

Polite form

The third type of keigo is called simply "polite language", or teineigo (丁寧語). Whereas respectful and humble language refer to the subject (you and I), teineigo is used to simply imply respect to the listener.An example:

りんごをご覧になりますか？ Ringo wo goran ni narimasuka? 

Can you see the apple? (respectful)

りんごを拝見します。 Ringo wo haiken shimasu. 

I see the apple. (humble)

彼もりんごを見ます。 Kare mo ringo wo mimasu. 

He also sees the apple. (polite)

In fact and the desu copula and the -masu form taught to beginning students of Japanese are both examples of teineigo. A few verbs and adjectives have special teineigo forms:

to be 

aru (ある) → gozaru (ござる、御座る) (basic polite form ございます (gozaimasu) and not ござります)

to die 

shinu (死ぬ) → nakunaru (亡くなる)

good 

ii/yoi (いい/良い) → yoroshii (よろしい)

Country and territory names

Country and territory names in Japanese are generally borrowed from their English names and written in katakana. The names of languages are generally formed by adding 語 (go) to the end of the nation name. Some of the main exceptions are as follows:

日本 Nihon/Nippon , 日本国 Nihon-koku

Japan

中国 Chūgoku, 中華人民共和国 Chūka jinmin Kyouwa koku 

China (or, confusingly, Chugoku|Western Honshu)

台湾 Taiwan 

Taiwan

香港 Honkon

Hong Kong

韓国 Kankoku 

South Korea

北朝鮮 Kitachōsen 

North Korea

ドイツ Doitsu 

Germany

イギリス Igirisu, 英国 Eikoku (written) 

United Kingdom

インド Indo 

India

タイ Tai 

Thailand

フランス Furansu 

France

イタリア Itaria 

Italy

イスラエル Isuraeru 

Israel

アメリカ Amerika, 米国 Beikoku (written) 

United States (not the whole American continent)

南アフリカ Minami-afurika 

South Africa

オランダ Oranda 

The Netherlands

ベルギー　Berugī 

Belgium

ハンガリー Hangarī 

Hungary

エチオピアー Echiopia 

Ethiopia

アラブ首長国連邦 Arabu-shuchōkoku-rempō 

United Arab Emirates

豪州 Gōshū , オーストラリア Ōsutoraria 

Australia

Learning more

• WWWJDIC — English-Japanese-English dictionary including sentence translation, kanji lookup and place/personal name dictionary
• Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar — Comprehensive online/printable grammar guide building up from casual Japanese using first principles (as opposed to working sideways from polite phrasebook Japanese)
• Japanese LinguaLift — Learn, review, and training Japanese in one easy to use package.
• L-Lingo Japanese — A free 40 lesson online learn Japanese application
• Charles Kelly's Online Japanese Language Study Materials — A collection of online study aids and quizzes
• Japanese by listening — Some Japanese lessons in mp3.
• Listen to the pronunciation of Japanese Phrases —Audio Pronunciation of Japanese Phrases.
• to speak Japanese - One at a Time — Daily Japanese lessons.
• Jisho.org — Another English-Japanese-English dictionary, but, with a deceptively powerful bookmarklet to assist reading kanji on websites.
• Denshi Jisho The best resource for japanese electronic dictionaries
• /blog/best-japanese-learning-resources/ 100 top resources to learn Japanese]

• Remembering the Kanji 1 by James W. Heisig (1977) — Extremely well-known book detailing just the meanings of most kanji and mnemonics to assist with retaining those meanings. Follow-up texts cover Chinese onyomi readings and all that again for less common naming kanji.