Japanese Phrasebook

337 phrases in 25 categories, sorted by the moment you need them: arriving, ordering, trains, shopping, trouble. Each phrase has its own page with the kana, the romaji, a literal word-by-word reading, and a note on when it fits and when it does not.

The literal reading is what sets this phrasebook apart. “Thank you” is ありがとうございます, arigatou gozaimasu — and word for word it says “it is a difficult thing to exist — that is, this kindness is rare”. Knowing that is the difference between repeating a sound and understanding why Japanese thanks weigh so much more than English ones. 26 of the phrases also come with a more casual or more formal alternative, because the polite form is not always the right one: to a friend it sounds distant, to a hotel manager the casual form sounds rude.

How to use it

Start with the situation, not the word. Each category below is a place or a moment — a station, a restaurant, a pharmacy — and lists every phrase for it. The search box matches English and romaji at once, so “station” and “eki” find the same lines. If you learn one word, make it すみません, sumimasen: literally “it does not end / it is not finished”, it calls a waiter, opens a question and apologises for a small thing, all in three syllables. Japanese is forgiving of grammar and unforgiving of tone, so every page says which register the phrase belongs to before it says anything else.