Japanese has a reputation for being a difficult language to learn, in particular for English speakers. That’s partly because kanji (ideographic Chinese characters) make reading and writing Japanese a challenge. And it’s partly that the way ideas are expressed can be quite different in Japanese, so predicting how to say things you’ve never said before can be tricky once you reach an intermediate level.

The good news is that basic conversational Japanese is not so difficult to learn, it’s lots of fun, and Japanese speakers are very receptive and tolerant of mistakes or imperfect pronunciation. There’s no need to be shy or hold back when trying out your Japanese with native speakers.

Today let’s learn some essential Japanese phrases to help you communicate with native speakers (and make some new friends in the process).

Basic Greetings in Japanese

In Japanese there isn’t exactly a word for “hello”. Instead people greet each other based on the time of day.

おはようございます Ohayou gozaimasu – “Good morning”

(Casual: おはよう Ohayou)

This is how you greet someone in the morning. If they are a coworker or classmate you can greet them this way the first time you see them that day, even if it’s not in the morning. I’ve witnessed hosts and hostesses greet each other with the casual equivalent “おはよう” (Ohayou) at 20:00 or 21:00 at night, because that’s when they start work!

こんにちは Konnichiwa – “Good day”

You probably know this word already, but you may have thought it’s the equivalent of “hello”. Well, it is, but only in the day time, in other words in the afternoon.

こんばんは Konbanwa – “Good evening”

This is the typical greeting in the evening. Unlike with the English word “hello”, it’s strange to say “こんにちがは” (Konnichiwa) in the evening. Stick to こんばんは konbanwa.

久しぶり Hisashiburi – “Long time, no see!”

If you run into someone you haven’t seen for a while, you can skip the above greetings and instead say: 久しぶり Hisashiburi – “Long time, no see!” And if you’re a female, you can simultaneously jump in the air several times before hugging your friend and squealing with delight. This will take you several steps closer towards being Japanese.

お久しぶりですね O-hisashiburi desu ne is the formal equivalent of 久しぶり Hisashiburi.

お元気ですか？O-genki desu ka? – How are you? (Casual: 元気？Genki?)

In English we ask “How are you?” but the Japanese equivalent is actually a yes or no question, something like “Are you you well?”

元気です Genki desu – I’m good (Casual: 元気！ Genki!)

元気 is a word that means something like “in good health and good spirits”. If you answer “Genki?” it’s like saying “I’m good” or “I’m well”. But we also use the word “genki” to describe someone who is very lively and energetic.

The reason that “O” appears before “genki” in “O-genki desu ka?” is because “O” is a prefix that shows politeness and is used before certain words in polite Japanese.

またね! Mata ne! – See ya later!

This is the typical way to say “Bye” or “See you later” to someone you know socially. また Mata means “again” as in “See you again”, and ね ne is a particle that invites a response from the other person.

In many books they tell you to say じゃまた ja mata or ではまた dewa mata. じゃ and it’s polite equivalent では are separate words that mean ”Alright” or “Alright then”, as a way to prompt the other person for a transition. When you say じゃ, he or she probably senses that you are about to say “bye”.  You should think of じゃ as a separate word, because there’s a pause after it as you transition into またね mata ne.

また mata + time – See you at/on (+time)

It’s also very common to say また mata followed by the time you plan to meet again (if you have plans).

また明日. Mata ashita. “See you tomorrow”.
また金曜日. Mata kinyoubi “See you on Friday”.

さようなら Sayounara – Goodbye/Farewell.

This well-known word is very formal. I normally only hear it when speaking with people much older than myself or people who are maintaining a very high level of formality and distance between us. If you say this to someone you know socially, it has the sense of “farewell”, as if you’re not going to see them for a very, very long time.

おやすみなさい Oyasumi nasai – Good night. (Casual: おやすみ Oyasumi)

How to introduce yourself in Japanese

初めまして Hajimemashite – “Nice to meet you”.

はじめます Hajimemasu is a polite word meaning “to begin”, and はじめまして is in the て te form which is used for linking a word to what comes next, and for imperatives. So if we think about this underlying meaning of this word, it’s something like “This is the beginning” (of our relationship). You normally say it before you give your name.

どうも doumo + name +です desu– My name is ______.

This comes next when you are introducing yourself. So it’s like this:

Then the other person will normally follow the same pattern. Then there’s one final step:

宜しくお願いします。Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. “Please treat me kindly”.

This may seem like an odd phrase, but nobody really thinks of it literally. It’s the third part of introducing yourself. So, it’s like this:

 

In a two way conversation, there are different ways you might take turns speaking. It might like this:

Or it might be like:

Sometimes you might meet people less formally and start talking without a formal introduction like the above. So if you suddenly want to ask someone’s name, you can ask like this:

お名前はなんですか？ O-namae wa nan desu ka? “What is your name?”

名前は？ Namae wa? “What’s your name?” (casual equivalent).  

(_______) wa nan desu ka? is a pattern you can use to make countless sentences. It means “What is ______?” これはなんですか？ Kore wa nan desu ka? – “What is this?”

Asking for directions in Japanese

すみません Sumimasen. – “Excuse me”.

“Sumimasen” is used for asking someone’s attention, for letting them know that you’re trying to pass them, and for apologizing.

お手洗いはどこですか。O-te arai wa doko desu ka? “Where is the restroom?”

(難波)駅はどこですか？ (Namba) eki wa doko desu ka? “Where is (Namba) station?”

Of course this is a question pattern that will come up over and over again, and you can use it by simply replacing the thing or place you are looking for. _____はどこですか。_____ wa doko desu ka?

あちら Achira – “Over there” / あっち Acchi (casual equivalent)

Both “achira” and “acchi” are very common. I’ve included both here so that you’ll understand whichever one you hear.

真っ直ぐ Massugu – Straight

真っすぐ行って Massugu itte – Go straight

“Itte” is the connecting form of the verb iku (“go”), and it appears in the middle of a sentence. There is normally another instruction following it.

右 Migi – Right

左 Hidari – Left

左に曲がって Hidari ni magatte – “Turn left…”

Common questions (and answers) in Japanese

どこから来ましたか？ Doko kara kimashita ka? – “Where do you come from?” (polite)

どこ doko – where

から kara – from

来ました kimashita – past tense of 来ます kimasu (the polite “masu” form of the verb 来る kuru, meaning “come”)

(place) + から来ました (place) + kara kimashita. – “I am from (place).”

The more formal equivalent of じゃないです is ではありません。But I only hear that in the most formal contexts. And you can remove です desu and simply say じゃない janai if you want to speak in a perfectly casual way.

“Have you ever” in Japanese

カナダに行ったことがありますか Kanada ni itta koto ga arimasu ka? – “Have you ever been to Canada?”

行った itta is the past tense of the verb 行く iku, meaning “go”.

はい、行ったことがあります。 Hai, itta koto ga arimasu. – “Yes, I have been there”.

It’s also common to simply say “arimasu”.

 

The 50 words and phrases above are all tremendously useful and will come up again and again in conversations with Japanese speakers.  Learning Japanese is an experience that will enrich your life in many ways, and it’s well worth the effort of learning it to a conversational level, or to an advanced level depending on your goals. If you plan visit Japan some day, knowing some Japanese will turn your simple vacation into an adventure you’ll never forget.

 

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