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Japan Know How

I don’t know what to do in Japanese

I don't know what to do in Japanese

どうすればいいですか

dou sureba ii desu ka

polite

What it literally says

if one does how, is it good

Japanese politeness is mostly built out of phrases that stopped being literal a long time ago. Knowing what is underneath is the difference between repeating a sound and knowing what you said.

When to use it

Hands the problem over politely. People will take it.

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The rest of the phrasebook

All 337 phrases →