Whenever I go to a new country I try to make an effort to learn at least a few words in their language. Not only does this pay respect to the people who’s home I’m visiting, it actually makes me feel a lot more comfortable as well.
There are 3 types of alphabet used in Japanese; hiragana, katakana and kanji. Hiragana is the most basic, katakana is used for foreign words (eg. your name would be spelt using this alphabet) and kanji, which uses Chinese characters and is the most complicated.
As many people already know, Japanese (にほんじん/Nihonjin) are obsessed with foreigners (がいじん/gaijin). Add a little bit of Japanese vocab to the mix and you’ll get treated extra special! We’ve put together a list of essential words and phrases for your visit to Japan.
Whether you’re a tourist, moving over or just wanting to learn the basics of Japanese, this is for you.
Give it a go! (がんばってね/Ganbette ne)
– Useful Words –
| Japanese (Hiragana) | Romaji | English |
| こんいちは | Konnichiwa | Good afternoon |
| おはよう | Ohayõ | Morning (casual greeting) |
| おはようございます | Ohayõ gozaimasu | Good morning (formal) |
| こんばんは | Konbanwa | Good evening |
| さようなら | Sayõnara | Goodbye (formal) |
| またね | Mata ne | See you again (farewell) |
| きおつけてね | Ki o tsukete ne | Take care! (farewell) |
| おねがいします | Onegaishimasu* | Please (polite request) |
| ください | Kudasai | Please |
| ありがとうございます | Arigatou gozaimasu* | Thank you (formal) |
| どうも | Dōmo | Thank you (casual) |
| どういたしまして | Doitashimashite | You’re welcome |
| すみません | Sumimasen | Excuse me/sorry |
| ごめんなさい | Gomen nasai | I’m sorry |
| はい | Hai | Yes |
| いいえ | Iie | No |
| だいじょうぶ | Daijoubu | That’s ok |
| おいしい | Oishi-i | Delicious (food) |
| かわいい | Kawai-i | Cute |
| にほんご | Nihongo | Japanese (language) |
| えいご | Eigo | English (language) |
| おてあらい | Otearai | Toilet/bathroom |
| えき | Eki | Train station |
* the ‘u’ at the end of these words are silent (and ends on the ‘s’)
Like I said in the intro, there are 3 alphabets. One of them being katakana. Katakana is used for words that are ‘borrowed’ from other languages.
Here’s a few bonus English transliterated words that are maybe going to be easier to remember:
| Japanese (Katakana) | Romaji | English |
| バイバイ | Baibai | Bye |
| ケーキ | Ke-ki | Cake |
| ビール | Biiru | Beer |
| ウォッカ | Wokka | Vodka |
| ワイン | Wain | Wine |
| タクシー | Takushi | Taxi |
| トイレ | Toire | Toilet |
– Useful Phrases –
| Japanese (Hiragana) | Romaji | English |
| これをひとつ(おねがいします) | Kore o hitotsu (onegaishimasu) | One of this/these (please) |
| 〇〇はどこですか | 〇〇wa doko desuka | Where is the 〇〇 (Eg. Otearai wa doko desuka – Where is the toilet?) |
| ごめなさい、にほんごがわかりません | Sumimasen, nihongo ga wakarimasen | I’m sorry, I don’t understand Japanese |
| にほんごはちょっと | Nihongo wa chotto | My Japanese skills are low |
| おなまえはなんですか | Onamae wa nan desuka* | What is your name? |
| (Your name)です | (Your name) desu** | I’m (name) |
| わたしのなまえは〇〇です | Watashi no namae wa 〇〇 desu*** | My name is 〇〇 |
* the ‘u’ in desuka is silent, so this is pronounced des-ka
** the ‘u’ in desu is silent, so this is pronounced des. This is the most common and casual way to say your name to Japanese.
*** the ‘u’ at the end of desu is silent, so this is pronounced des. This is the more widely known way to introduce yourself as a foreigner. But typically only Japanese children at preschool introduce themselves this way.
– Final Thoughts –
All I can say to you is good luck! These terms were definitely what I first learnt and used the most coming to Japan. So I hope they help you out as much as they helped me.
If you have any more words to add, please comment them below!
