Japanese Phrases
Ohayou, Konnichiwa, Konbanwa: the Clock Decides
Konnichiwa is not an all-purpose Japanese hello. The right greeting depends on daylight, your relationship, the setting, and whether a work shift is just beginning.
Japan Know How archive
Japanese Phrases
Everyday Japanese sorted by the situation you need it in: arriving, ordering, shopping, trains, trouble. Every phrase carries its politeness level, because the same thought said three ways can be warm, correct or rude depending on who you are talking to.
Japanese Phrases
The Register Americans Do Not Notice
Volume carries social meaning in Japan. Learn why an ordinary American speaking voice may feel forceful on a train or in a small restaurant, how to respond when corrected, and which phrases can repair the moment.
Japanese Phrases
The Hand Signals You Will See Before You Hear
Japanese gestures can reject a request, clear a path, identify a person, or settle a bill before anyone speaks. This guide explains ten useful signals, the context behind them, and the American habits most likely to cause confusion.
Japanese Phrases
Japanese Has No Safe Word for You
Anata is not the polite you. What to call a waiter, a clerk, a stranger and a coworker when you have no name, and why job titles do the work.
Japanese Phrases
Two Ways to Decline, One of Them Chilly
Both mean no thanks at a register. Kekkou desu carries distance and can sting; daijoubu desu is the soft everyday one. When each fits and who says it.
Japanese Phrases
Chotto: the Sentence You Never Finish
Iie is rare in real refusals. Chotto, muzukashii and a trailing pause do the work. How to decline clearly and how to hear a no aimed at you.
Japanese Phrases
The Grunts You Are Supposed to Make
Japanese listeners answer every few seconds with hai, ee and sou desu ne. Say nothing and you read as bored. The five sounds and their timing.
Japanese Phrases
The Pause Americans Rush to Fill
A three-second gap in a Japanese conversation is an answer, not a failure. Where silence carries refusal, respect or thought, and when to just wait.
Japanese Phrases
The Word You Will Use Fifty Times a Day
Sumimasen calls a waiter, apologizes, thanks, squeezes past, opens a question and softens a request. Which job the tone and the situation assign.
Japanese Phrases
Arigatou Literally Means This Rarely Happens
Arigatou comes from arigatashi, hard to exist. Japanese thanks marks a rare favor, which is why the polite forms feel formal to English speakers.