Useful phrases:
Note:
Double “oo” and “ee”
*Please be careful with the pronunciation of
“o” sound followed by う
as you see in ”よう.”
It is written as”yo and u”
but pronounced as “yo and o” so it becomes an
extended “o.”
**The similar rule happens for
“e” sound followed by
いas you see in ”せい”as
in Sensei (Teacher).
It is written as”se and i”
but pronounced as “se and e” so it becomes an
extended “e.”
Hello
| おはよう* | Good morning (among peers/direct style) | ohayou | Text to Speech http://imtranslator.net/translate-and-speak/speak/japanese Erase |
|
| おはようございます* | Good morning (to senior/teacher) | ohayou gozaimasu | ||
| こんにちは | Hello in the day time (after noon) | konnichiwa | ||
| こんばんは | Hello in the evening of night (getting dark). | konbanwa |
Good-bye
|
|
Good bye (to anyone) | sayounara |
| じゃ、（また） | Good bye (among peers) | Ja, (mata) |
| バイ バイ | Good bye (among peers) | bai bai |
|
|
Good bye (to senior/teacher) | shitsurei shimasu |
| おやすみ（なさい） | Have a Good dream! (before going to bed) | oyasumi (nasai) |
Thank you
|
どうも ありがとう ございます。* |
Thank you very much. |
doumo arigatou gozaimasu |
|
ありがとう ございます。 |
Thank you very much. |
arigatou gozaimasu |
|
どうも ありがとう。* |
Thanks. | doumo arigatou |
| ありがとう | Thanks. | arigatou |
| どうも 。 | Thanks. | doumo |
| (どうも ) すみません。 |
Sorry for troubling you. | doumo sumimasen |
You are welcome (as a response to "Thank you.")
|
どういたしまして。 |
You are welcome. | dou itashi mashite |
| No problem. | iie (ie) | |
| Just
|
No problem. |
Apology
| しつれい |
You are welcome. (very formal and
Sophisticated.) |
shitsurei shimashita |
|
|
No problem. | (doumo) sumimasesn |
| ごめん | No problem. (casual tone). | gomen |
Long Time No See
When you meet someone whom you have not met for some time. Here are common phrases
| おひさしぶりですね。 |
Hello (I have not seen you a while, saying to a senior/sensei/etc.) |
ohisashi buri desu ne, |
| しばらくですね。 | Hello (I have not seen you a while, saying colleagues.) | shibaraku desu ne, |
| おげんきですか。 |
How have you been? |
ogenki desu ka, |
| はい、（おかげさまで.） げんきです。 |
（Thanks to you.） I am in good health. |
hai, (okagesama de) genki desu. |
Note: “おかげさまで。Thanks
to you.” may sound different to you. The direct translation of
おかげさまで
could be “because I am in your shade/protection.”
The group-mentality of the Japanese society is often commented in contrast with
the Western culture. So this phrase
represent one of Japanse mentality of feeling secure if they are included in a
group of people. This is not unique
to Japanese culture. The concept is
common in any culture so the issue is a degree of involvement. For example,
Japanese tend to put an emphasis on group’s needs over individual needs.
Weather
As a part of greetings, what other phrases do you usually say?
How about the phrase “How are you?”
Japanse do not say “How are you?” as a part of greetings.
Instead,
talking about weather is often included in the greeting as a way of filling in a conversation
and synchronize the feeling (empathy) as a pleasantry. The responses to the
following are usually
「そうですね。」”Yes,
indeed.”
|
A:
いい おてんきですね。 |
It’s a nice day, isn’t it? |
ii otenki desu ne. |
|
A:
ひどい おてんきですね |
It’s terrible weather, isn’t it? |
hidoi otenki desu ne. |
|
A:
ひどい あめですね。 |
It’s raining hard, isn’t it? |
hidoi ame desu ne. |
|
A:
ひどい ゆきですね。 |
It’s snowing a lot, isn’t it? |
hidoi yuki desu ne. |
|
A:
むしあついですね。 |
It’s hot and humid, isn’t it? |
mushi atsui desu ne. |
|
A: (きょうは)
さむいですね。 |
It’s cold (today), isn’t it? |
(kyou wa) samui desu ne. |
|
A: (きょうは) あついですね。 |
It’s hot (today), isn’t it? |
(kyou wa) atsui desu ne. |
|
A: (きょうは)
あたたかいですね。 |
It’s warm (today), isn’t it? |
(kyou wa) atatakai desu ne. |
|
A: (きょうは) すずしいですね |
It’s cool (today), isn’t it? |
(kyou wa) suzushii des ne. |
|
A:
いやな てんき
ですね。 |
It's a hateful weather, isnt' it? |
iyana otenki desu ne. |
|
A:
あめが ふりそう* ですね。 |
It looks like rain fall, isn't it? |
ame ga furisou desu ne. |
| Response to the above phrase as a greeting is そうですね。 | Yes, indeed. |
Words used in a weather forecast:
はれClear、
あめrain、
くもりcloudy、
ゆきsnow、かみなりthunder
Note:
Japanese often use an onomatopoeia to describe a sound.
Some of them we can introduce is
cow says
モーモー
(moo moo)、dog
says
ワンワン（woof）、goats
and sheep says
メー (baa)、pig
says ブーブー
(oink)、mouse
says
チュウチュウ(squeak
squeak)、a
thunder flashesピカピカ
(Shiny shiny)、now
you can tell why we call the small monster ピカチュウ!
Conversation samples:
Smith-san sees his teacher on campus.
| スミス: せんせい、おはよう ございます。** | せんせい: スミスさん、おはよう。* | |
| スミス: いい おてんきですね. | せんせい: そう ですね.。* |
| Smith: Sensei, good morning | Teacher: Smith-san, good morning. |
| Smith: (It is) a nice day. | Teacher: Indeed. |
Tanaka-san saw Yamada-san whom he have
not seem for a while.
| Tanaka:やまださん、おはよう ございます。* おひさしぶりですね。 | Yamada: たなかさん、 おはようございます。 おひさしぶりですね。 | |
| Tanaka: おげんきですか。 | Yamada: はい、おかげさまで。たなかさんは、(おげんきですか）。 | |
| Tanaka: はい、げんきです。 |
Yamada: いい おてんきですね。 |
|
| Tanaka: そう ですね。* |
Conversation continues to catch up with each other. |
| Tanaka: Yamada-san, good morning. Long time no see. | Yamada: Good morning. Long time no see. |
| Tanaka: How have you been? | Yamada: Good. You? (How have you been?) |
| Tanaka: Yes, fine. | Yamada: (It is) a nice day. |
| Tanaka: Indeed. |
Renshuu
Listen
to the phrase and respond appropriately.
http://people.uncw.edu/kanoy/101/ListeningPractices/Greetings-List-1.htm
http://people.uncw.edu/kanoy/101/ListeningPractices/Greetings-List-2.htm
http://people.uncw.edu/kanoy/101/ListeningPractices/Greetings-List-3.htm
http://people.uncw.edu/kanoy/101/ListeningPractices/text2-9-1.htm
What can you tell from listening to this conversation?
http://people.uncw.edu/kanoy/101/ListeningPractices/text2-9-main2.htm