Phrases(jp)

どうもありがとうございます

Japanese		Japanese
はい / ええ / うん	Yes/Yeah	いいえ	No
(それ)では / (それ) じゃ (あ)	Well(then)	多分(たぶん, tabun)	maybe
あ	ah，oh	あの	um
		じゃ	so
もちろん(です)	of course

Greetings(挨拶,aisatsu)

These Japanese phrases can have a couple different variations and meanings:

How are you?

おげんきですか？ (How are you? / Are you well?) [お元気ですか]

ええ、げんきです。 (yes, I am fine) / げんきではありません (I am not fine)

What’s that お in the question, by the way? It’s just something for adding a little extra politeness!

こちらこそ（Kochira koso）: 彼此彼此, 哪里哪里，Likewise, the pleasure is mine

Nice to meet you.

Japanese
こんにちは [konnichiwa]	Hello
どうい たしまして [Dōitashimashite]	You are welcome
おかえりなさい [Okaerinasai]	Welcome back
(どうぞ)よろしく[Douzo yoroshiku]	(Here you are)nice to meet you
はじめまして [Hajimemashite]	Nice to meet you
どうぞ+よろしく+お願(nega)いします。	Nice to meet you.

Good Morning…

おはよう(ございます)[gozaimasu])	Good morning!
こんばんは[konbanwa]	Good morning!
おやすみ(なさい)[oyasuminasai]	Good night!

Please

お願いします「おねがいします， onegaishimasu」: 请多关照”，“拜托了”

在日本，拜托对方做什么事情时(do something for you)会说「お願いします」（拜托了）。自我介绍或者第一次见面的时候，也会在最后说一句「よろしくお願いします」（请多多关照）。

「お願いします」在一些场合下会说成「お願い」，意思是相同的，只是尊敬程度不同。「お願い」比「お願いします」更随意，多用在和关系亲近的人的对话中。

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The basic way to say “please(thank you for your consideration)” when making a request is 「お願いします」. Interestingly, this version of the word actually is an example of keigo(敬語, Honorific), as it uses humble speech. You can turn this into casual speech by just saying 「お願い。」 or more formal by swapping out しますfor いたします, a more humble form of the verb する.

If you need to really amp up the formality, you can say 「お願い申し上げます」 (onegai moushiagemasu).

Another formal word for “please” in Japanese is 「どうか」 (douka), which carries connotations of sincere begging.

In a restaurant or similar setting when you’re a customer asking for something, you should use the respectful word**「下さい」** (kudasai) instead in most cases.

If, on the other hand, you’re inviting someone to take something offered or otherwise make themselves at home, you can use the word**「どうぞ」**(douzo).

In more casual contexts you might hear**「頼む」(tanomu), a word that means “beg” but has come to be used as “please” in colloquial speech and「頂戴」(ちょうだい, choudai)**, which is technically humble language but is now used typically by women to say “please” in an endearing way.

What’s your name?

If you want to ask something like What is your name？in Japanese，it's more like Your name is what？

お名(な)前(まえ)は何(なに)ですか？ (what is your name?)

O namae wa nan(i) desuka?

お——honorific before a noun

何ですか？—— what

マリアと言(い)います

• とい います means My name is...！

  It's a verb, so remember to put it at the end.

• と : particle

• My name is Maria.

僕の名前は茂です。

• My name is Shigeru.

兄の名前は健太です。Ani no namae wa Kentadesu. My older brother's name is Kenta.

Saying Thank You

The phrase "thank you" in Japanese is dependent on the situation. Below is a table of the most common forms, from least to most formal. Note that the formality increases with the length of the phrase.

The simplest one is 「いいえ」, "not at all". The next one up is 「どういたしまして」, "would do the same". Another one you may come across is 「とんでもない」, "don't mention it", or one of its more polite variants (replacing 「ありません」 or 「ございません」 as appropriate). There are even more polite responses, but as a 外国人 you will not be expected to have to worry about them.

Japanese	Explanation
どうも[doumo]	Thanks, used with friends.
ありがと[arigato](う)	Thank you, used with friends.
どうも+ありがとう	Thank you very much, used with friends.
ありがと+う+ございます[… gozaimasu]	Thank you, used with strangers, teachers, and bosses.
どうも+ ありがうございます	Thank you very much, used with strangers, teachers, and bosses.

If you'd like to thank someone for something they did in the past, you change the ございます ending to ございました。

Japanese	Explanation
ありがとうございま[した]	Thank you for what you did, used with strangers, teachers, and bosses.
どうも ありがとうございま[した]	Thank you very much for what you did, used with strangers, teachers, and bosses.

Saying Sorry

If you need to apologize for something you did，the phraseごめんなさい (gomen nasai) is the polite way to say “I’m sorry,” but you can make it more casual, too. Switching it to ごめん (gomen, masculine) or ごめんね (gomen ne, feminine) makes it more casual and lighthearted for minor issues.

On the flip side, you can make it more sincere by adding 本当に (hontou ni), to say 本当にごめんなさい (hontou ni gomen nasai) which means “I’m truly sorry.”

Japanese	Explanation
ごめん / ごめん+なさい[Gomen Nasai]	This is the standard way to say “sorry” in Japanese, and you can use it in most situations.
どうも[すみません]	plz excuse me
すみません [Sumimasen]	excuse me, a super common way to apologize in most situations, especially in formal situations. It also works to get someone's attention, like excuse me in English. e.g. bumped into someone by accident? “ああ、すみません！”

If you did something wrong at work, this would be the phrase to use. It’s in humble speech and shows your sincerity more than ごめん(ね).

申し訳ない, 申し訳ございません (moushiwake gozaimasen, I’m terribly sorry”) is also said if you do something wrong in any situation where you must apologize to someone of authority. That could mean law enforcement, too.

You’ll also hear 申し訳ありません (moushiwake arimasen), which essentially means the same thing, but is slightly less polite because it’s not in humble speech.

Saying Goodbye

[では], さようなら(Bye)[sayou nara]

「さよう」是“这样”的意思，「なら」是表示假设，如果怎么样的话，所以「さようなら」的本意是“如果这样的话”。

「さようなら」的说法在日常生活中很少用，一是因为它是一个非常正式的用语，二是由于它含有一种“长期离别，再不相见”的意思，就相当于英语的farewell。

またね /じゃね（ma ta ne/jya ne）

「また」是“还，再次”的意思，「ね」则是句尾的语气词，可以表示感叹或确认等。这句话的其实是「また会いましょうね」（再见吧）的简略说法，把动词「会う」“见面”省略掉了。

「じゃね」的完整形式是「じゃ、またね」（那么再见了），「じゃ」就是“那么”的意思。

ごきげんよう（go ki gen you）

汉字写作「ご機嫌よう」。「機嫌(きげん)」就是心情的意思，这句话的本意是“祝您心情愉快”。它既可以表示再见，也可以表示“您好”的意思。但它也是一个非常正式的用语，常用于身份尊贵的女性。比如动漫中那些千金小姐、贵妇人等就经常说「ご機嫌よう」，但如果在现实生活中使用，则会给人一种装腔作势的感觉。

Japanese	Explanation
バイバイ[bai bai]	byebye
また明日	明天见
また来週	下周见
また金曜日	周五见

With feeling!

There are also little words at the end of a sentence that add feeling and attitude!

Putting よ (yo) at the end of a sentence adds a bit of emphasis, often when you’re saying new information to the listener!

そうですよ。Sō desu yo.

• (That) is right, you know.

違いますよ。Chigaimasu yo.

• (That) is wrong, you know.

You can also add ね (ne) when you expect the listener to agree or show approval. It’s kind of like adding ...right? to the end of a sentence when you’re not actually looking for an answer. You can even have よ (yo) and ね (ne) in the same sentence!

よろしくね。Yoroshiku ne.

• Nice to meet you. そうですよね？

Sō desu yo ne?

• (That) is right, isn't it?

お返事楽しみにしています。(O henji tanoshiminishiteimasu.)

I am looking forward to your reply.