- Vowels sound similar to Spanish: a = ah, e = eh, i = ee, o = oh, u = ooh.
- Doubled letters mean long vowels. For instance, ooki is the same as ōki (ohhh-ki).
- There are multiple ways to say things. Generally, the longer the sentence, the more polite. For an example, see "Thank you" below in Basic Conversation.
- Some endings are barely audible, so it's best to just omit them if you try to say something. These silent endings are in parenthesis. For instance, "DES(U)" sounds like "DES". It will only sound like "DESU" when someone is being very polite.
- Don't look at the whole word when pronouncing, just pronounce syllable by syllable. For instance, "hajimemashite" ("nice to meet you") may look hard to pronounce, but you just sound it out, splitting it up: "ha-ji-me-ma-shi-te".
I recommend listening to this to get a feel for basic sound and pronunciation of basic phrases: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other/quickfix/japanese.shtml
- I don't understand = Wakarimasen
- Where is the bathroom? = Toire wa, doko des(u) ka? (literally "As for the toilet, where is it?")
- Please write it down = Kaite kudasai
- Where is the American Embassy? = America no taishikan wa, doko des(u) ka?
- Nice to meet you = hajimemashite
- Yes = hai / ee (sounds like eh)
- No = iie
- Thank you = arigato / arigato gozaimas(u) / domo arigato gozaimas(u)
- You're welcome = doitashimashite
- Excuse me = sumimasen
- Sorry = gomen / gomen nasai
- Do you understand English? = Eiga ga wakarimasu ka? (literally "As for English, do you understand it?")
- Is it ok? = ii des(u) ka?
- It's ok / I'm ok = ii des(u)
The two common questions you'll be asked as restaurants will be "Dining in?" and "Smoking / no smoking?". If you're asked a question and you don't understand, just make hand gestures and chances are it'll be the answer to one of those questions.
- Welcome = iterasshai
- How much does this cost? = Kore wa, ikura des(u) ka?
- I'll have water please = Mizu o kudasai (o-mizu is more polite)
- I'll have coffee please = Cohi o kudasai
- How much does this cost? = Kore wa, ikura des(u) ka?
- Where is ___? = ___ wa, doko des(u) ka?
- Taxi = takushi
- Bus = basu
- Train = dencha
- Train station = dencha eki
- Subway = chikatetsu
- To go = ikimasu
- Tomorrow I'm going to Kyoto by shinkansen = Ashita Kyoto ni ikimasu shinkansen de.
- Kawaii = cute
- Chisai = small
- Chotto / chotto matte kudasai = Just a moment / Hey!
- Dame = bad
- Ee (sounds like eh) = Yes / Oh! / Ah
- Gaijin / Gaikokujin = foreigner
- Gakusee = student
- Ganbatte = do your best
- Inu = dog
- Kakkoi = cool / awesome
- Naka = inside / in / within / among
- Neko = cat
- Okagesamade = thanks to you / thanks for asking
- Omoshiroi = interesting
- Ooki = big
- Shashin = photo
- So des(u) / So des(u) ne = That's right
- Subarashii = excellent
- Sugoi = amazing
- Suki (sounds like "s-ki") = like
- Yuk-kuri = ano…
- Yuubinkyoku = post office