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.
Japan Know How archive
Tag: japanese phrases
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.
Japanese Phrases
Essential Japanese Phrases for Travelers
Ten phrases, and three of them do most of the work. What to say, how to pronounce it, and the one thing phrasebooks leave out: which register to use with whom.