Japanese(日本語, nihongo) is practically exclusively in Japan(日本国, Nippon) spoken, but is also partly used as a second language in South Korea and some parts of China. The development of the Japanese writing was strongly influenced by Chinese and its grammar is related to Korean, but is otherwise not related to any other language. The writing system consists of a combination of Kanji 漢字 and the two syllable alphabets hiragana (ひ ら が な) and katakana (カ タ カ ナ). Also the Latin alphabet (ロ ー マ 字, rōmaji) is increasingly used nowadays.
Read and write
The Japanese writing system is extremely complex and difficult to master for most travelers. The basis is a set of over 40,000 Kanji, of which three to six thousand are in daily use among the educated - students learn the most important, almost 1900 Tōyō-Kanji, which is perfectly adequate for everyday life. These characters, originally adopted from China, each represent an object, a thing, a concept or an idea. Although the system works great in Chinese, the need for a sound-based alphabet soon emerged in Japan. Then the hiragana and katakana systems were derived, which can represent all sounds common in Japanese with around 50 characters each. While Hiragana are used to expand Kanji with grammatical inflections and to write Japanese words, Katakana have been used mainly for loan and foreign words since the writing reform in 1948.
Despite their mostly simple, figurative origin, a large part of the Kanji today can generally not be deciphered without lengthy study. However, the meanings of some simple kanji can be at least partially guessed at. The Kanji 人 z. B. represents a human being or a person. The Kanji 大 represents the concept “big” and appears like a person with arms outstretched. Together as 大人, literally “tall person”, they form the word “adult”. An agricultural example would be a tree 木, a forest 林 and a forest 森. A “word” usually consists of two, rarely three characters.
Traditionally, Japanese is written from top to bottom within a column, and columns from right to left. This is the usual type in newspapers and novels. Since the advent of electronic word processing, however, people have also written “quite normally” from left to right. In everyday use and especially in advertising, both writing directions and all four writing systems are often mixed. Old texts, especially from the time before the Pacific War or inscriptions in temples are also arranged right to left, but are rarely used today.
The pronunciation of a single kanji varies depending on the context in which it is used, as the Chinese meaning-based writing system was only later transferred to Japanese pronunciation. Most kanji have three to five possible pronunciations, and some even have a dozen or more. On top of that, Japanese is rich in homophones, words that have different meanings when pronounced the same. This can be confusing even for native speakers, sometimes requiring an alternate reading to explain a word or quickly scribbling the specific kanji on the hand.
hashi | 橋 "bridge" | 端 "edge" | 箸 "chopsticks" |
noboru | 登 る "climb" | 昇 る "ascend" | 上 る "go up" |
pronunciation
a | i | u | e | O | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
あ a | い i | う u | え e | お O | |
k | か ka | き ki | く ku | け ke | こ ko |
s | さ sa | し shi | す see below | せ se | そ so |
t | た ta | ち chi | つ tsu | て te | と to |
n | な n / A | に ni | ぬ nu | ね no | の no |
H | は Ha | ひ Hi | ふ fu | へ hey | ほ ho |
m | ま ma | み mi | む must | め me | も mo |
y | や ya | ゆ yu | よ yo | ||
r | ら ra | り ri | る ru | れ re | ろ ro |
w | わ wa | を (Where | |||
ん n | |||||
Umlauts | |||||
G | が ga | ぎ gi | ぐ gu | げ ge | ご go |
z | ざ za | じ ji | ず to | ぜ ze | ぞ zo |
d | だ there | ぢ ji | づ to | で de | ど do |
b | ば ba | び bi | ぶ bu | べ be | ぼ bo |
p | ぱ pa | ぴ pi | ぷ pu | ぺ pe | ぽ po |
Combinations | |||||
き ゃ kya | き ゅ kyu | き ょ kyo | |||
し ゃ sha | し ゅ shu | し ょ sho | |||
ち ゃ cha | ち ゅ chu | ち ょ cho | |||
ひ ゃ hya | ひ ゅ hyu | ひ ょ hyo | |||
ぎ ゃ gya | ぎ ゅ gyu | ぎ ょ gyo | |||
じ ゃ Yes | じ ゅ ju | じ ょ jo | |||
び ゃ bya | び ゅ byu | び ょ byo |
The pronunciation of Japanese is very similar to that of German. The five vowels are almost identical, and among the consonants there are only a few sounds that differ from German or have no equivalent. In general, the throat is practically not used for pronunciation, all sounds are mainly formed in the mouth. The stress within a sentence is generally very flat. All syllables are spoken for the same length. Long vowels, marked with a dash (ā, ī, ū, ē, ō) in Latin transcription, are two syllables in length. Come with it - and ī Rare, ē only in foreign words. Combinations like き ゃ kya are spoken like a syllable.
Character combinations such as ai are not spoken as diphtong "ai" as in German, the vowels always keep their original sound. The only exception is that u after 'o' (お う ou, こ う kou, そ う sou, etc.), here it extends u the O' According to. In the Latin transcription, however, such a long vowel is rendered as 'ō' anyway (お う O, こ う kō, そ う so, etc.). Unfortunately, not all Japanese follow this and you can find wrong romanizations like fou.
In the following, all sounds are given first in the Latin alphabet, then as Hiragana and Katakana.
Vowels
- a あ ・ ア
- like 'a' in "apple"
- i い ・ イ
- like 'i' in “interesting”, often swallowed at the end of the word
- u う ・ ウ
- like 'u' in “Ulli”, often swallowed at the end of the word, so … of' and ... mas ’
- e え ・ エ
- like 'e' in "honest", short
- o お ・ オ
- like 'o' in "follow"
Consonants
With the exception of the endn (ん ・ ン) all consonants in Japanese always form a syllable together with a vowel. Some syllables, similar to German umlauts, can be marked with the pronunciation characters ゙ ("goosefoot") or kleiner (small circle), which affects the pronunciation of the consonant. Only those consonants that differ from the German pronunciation or that require explanation are listed below. See table on the right for all sounds and combinations.
Note: The Latin transcriptions follow Hepburn systemwhich is based on the English language. Therefore, some romanization like 'z', 'j' or 'y' may not be very intuitive for native German speakers.
- s in さ す せ そ ・ サ ス セ ソ
- like 'ss' in "street" (sharp s)
- z in ざ ず ぜ ぞ ・ ザ ズ ゼ ゾ
- like 's' in "sit" (soft s)
- y in や ゆ よ ・ ヤ ユ ヨ
- like 'y' in "yes"
- r in ら り る れ ろ ・ ラ リ ル レ ロ
- has no equivalent in German, between 'r' and 'l', with a slight 'd' accent
- w in わ ・ ワ
- very soft 'w', direction 'u'
- sh in し ・ シ
- like 'sch' in "ship"
- j in じ ・ ジ
- like 'j' in "Junkie" or 'dsch' in "jungle"
- ch in ち ・ チ
- like 'tsch' in "Czech Republic"
- ts in つ ・ ツ
- like 'z' in "to"
- f in ふ ・ フ
- breathed, sometimes "blown" 'f', between 'f' and 'h'
- Consonant doubling through guttural stop っ ・ ッ (small tsu)
- に っ ぽ ん nippon is spoken as "nip- (pause) -pon". The consonant is prepared, held and the breath stopped for a syllable. The previous vowel remains unaffected. Not to be confused with a “real” double 'n' as in こ ん に ち は konnichiwawhat i. A. in the Latin transcription as kon'nichiwa is identified.
Katakana
a | i | u | e | O | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ア | イ | ウ | エ | オ | |
k ゛ | カ | キ | ク | ケ | コ |
s ゛ | サ | シ | ス | セ | ソ |
t ゛ | タ | チ | ツ | テ | ト |
n | ナ | ニ | ヌ | ネ | ノ |
H ゛゜ | ハ | ヒ | フ | ヘ | ホ |
m | マ | ミ | ム | メ | モ |
y | ヤ | ユ | ヨ | ||
r | ラ | リ | ル | レ | ロ |
w | ワ | ヲ | |||
n | ン |
The katakana alphabet is used today to write loan and foreign words and is therefore particularly worthwhile for travelers to learn. It contains exactly the same sounds as the Hiragana alphabet, only the spelling is different. For reasons of space, only the basic characters are shown on the left, all umlauts (such as カ ka → ガ ga, modifiable rows marked accordingly), and combinations (キ ャ kya, シ ャ sha, etc.) exist as well. Officially there is the additional umlaut ヴ vu and combinations based on it like ヴ ェ veto be able to reproduce more foreign language sounds. Every now and then other imaginative modifications appear, which you should just pronounce by feeling.
Since all consonants (except finaln) occur exclusively as syllables, the Katakana transcription of a foreign word is generally only an approximation of the actual pronunciation. While some common terms such as café (カ フ ェ coffee) can be reproduced quite well, you have to like beer (ビ ー ル bīru) listen more closely. Many common terms from English are in daily use (rent-a-car → レ ン タ カ ー rentakā), and even some German, French, Dutch, and Portuguese can be found here and there. Often the exact meaning was slightly changed when it was taken over into Japanese (Arbeit → ア ル バ イ ト arubaito is used for "job work") or invented a new one (ワ ン マ ン カ ー wanmankā → “one-man car,” trains and buses without a controller, with only one Driver), but in general you can at least guess what it is about.
To identify a foreign katakana word, it is often helpful to repeat it out loud a few times and, if necessary, to swallow unnecessary vowels, especially the 'u' in ス see below and 'o' in ト to. This is how ラ イ ス becomes raisu quickly "rice" (aka "rice") and チ ケ ッ ト chiketto can be identified as “ticket.” Since they usually stand out due to their angular spelling, not all words written in katakana are actually foreign words. In advertising and design in particular, they are often used simply as a stylistic device, similar to the use of capital letters or italics in the Latin alphabet.
grammar
Basics
The basics of Japanese grammar are generally relatively simple. There is no article, declension, gender and no distinction between singular and plural. Nouns do not need to be declined, almost all verbs are regular, and there are only two tenses. On the other hand, there are some peculiarities such as negative adjectives and the (culturally very decisive) politeness system.
Japanese is a so-called agglutinating language, in which affixes with a purely grammatical meaning are attached to a word stem in order to identify the grammatical function of the word. The further the grammatical case deviates from the basic form of the word, the more affixes are added to the word. This scheme is used for both verbs and adjectives.
Stem 見 mi | Basic form 見 る miru "see" | polite rationale 見 ま す mimasu "See" (courtly) | negated 見 な い minai "not see" | politely negated 見 ま せ ん mimosa "Not see" (courtly) |
Past tense 見 た mita "seen" | courtly Past 見 ま し た mimashita "Seen" (courtly) | neg. past 見 な か っ た minakatta "not seen" | courtly neg. past 見 ま せ ん で し た mimasendeshita "Not seen" (courtly) | |
Possibility form 見 え る mieru "Can see" or "being visible" | courtly Possibility f. 見 え ま す miemasu "Can see" (courtly) or "To be visible" (courtly) | neg. 見 え な い mienai "Can not see" or "not be visible" | ・・・ | |
Stem 赤 aka | adjective 赤 い akai "red" | negated 赤 く な い akakunai "not red" | neg. past 赤 く な か っ た akakunakatta "wasn't red" | ・・・ |
Sentence structure
In principle, the sentence structure follows the subject-object-verb scheme, but is relatively flexible, as the meaning of a word within a sentence mainly depends on the affix or particle that follows the word. By far the most important particles are the object particle は wa and the object particle を O.
I watched a movie. | |
---|---|
私は映 画を見 ま し た。 Watashiwa ownO mimashita. | I-[Contr.] Movie-[Obj.] seen. |
It becomes more complicated when an object and a subject are used in the sentence and the subject particle が ga is used.
I found out that she likes tea. | |
---|---|
私は彼女がお 茶を好 き な 事が分 か っ た。 Watashiwa kanojo-ga ocha-O sukinakoto-ga wakatta. | I-[Contr.] you-[Subj.] Tea-[Obj.] to like-[Subj.] understanding. |
The concept is unfamiliar and it takes some time to understand the difference between は wa and が ga but in general you will be understood without any problems if you swap the two particles. Other useful and far easier to use particles are:
Particles | function | Examples | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
の no | indicating affiliation | 母の子 haha no ko the mother's child ("Mother no Child") | 私のパ ー ソ コ ン watashi no pāsokon my computer ("I no Computer") | 東京のテ レ ビ タ ワ ー Tokyo no terebi tawā the Tokyo television tower |
で ・ に de ・ ni | showing location and time | 東京で Tokyo-de in Tokyo | 2 時に niji-ni around 2 O 'clock | 明日に ashita-ni at the tomorrow day |
か ら ・ へ ・ ま で kara ・ e ・ made | directional | こ こか ら coco kara of from here | 東京か ら大阪へ奈良ま で Tokyo-kara Ōsaka-e Narra-made of Tokyo direction Osaka to Nara | |
か ・ や ・ と ka ・ ya ・ to | Bullet particles | こ れかそ れかあ れ kore ka sore ka are that, this or that (complete list) | そ れやあ れ sore ya are z. B. this or that (incomplete list) | そ れとあ れ sore to are this and that |
か? ka? | Question particle | 東京 に 行 き ま す。 Tōkyō ni ikimasu. I'm going (driving) to Tokyo. ("Go to Tokyo.") | 東京 に 行 き ま すか? Tōkyō ni ikimasu ka? Are you going (driving) to Tokyo? ("Go to Tokyo ka?“) |
The auxiliary verb "to be"
An auxiliary verb like "sein" does not exist in Japanese. The words い る iru and あ る aru express the physical presence of a person or an object (駅 は あ そ こ にあ る。 Eki wa asoko ni aru. - "The station is(is located) over there. ”), but are in no way equivalent to“ being. ”It is often mistakenly assumed that で す desu takes on this role. Indeed it is desu or. de aru above all a politeness particle that has no real grammatical function. Since the politeness form is usually expressed in the verb of a sentence, one uses desuto give a sentence a polite form when it does not contain a verb, e.g. E.g .: 駅 で す。 Eki desu. - „This is the train station. ”This example also shows that sentences in Japanese are usually reduced to the essentials. The only word with a specific meaning in this short sentence is 駅 eki, “Station.” The actual statement should be clear from the context.
But there are also frequent “tapeworm sentences” in which, by the time you have reached the verb at the end, you have already forgotten the subject named five minutes before.
The direct salutation
Until you know exactly what you are doing, you should always consider yourself watashi speak and others at most with a あ な た anata address, but always better by name or title. The use of personal pronouns has greatly increased due to Western influence after the war, if there is no particular emphasis on the person, they can also be left out.
I
- 私 watashi・watakushi・atashi
- most common form of "I"; literally "private," in different levels of "privacy"
- う ち uchi
- Dialect type of watashi
- 僕 boku
- boyish and loosely used almost exclusively by men or dykes
- 俺 ore
- Male language
You
- あ な た anata
- most frequent form of "you," direct but not too direct; anta is a little more relaxed
- 君 kimi
- more direct, mostly from men to women
- お 前 grandmae
- very direct, too informal for a friendly address
- て め え temē
- very unfriendly, "You pig dog" - it is advisable to let the speaker's fist reach the ear of the person addressed at about the same time as the word.
- Aniki
- "Big brother:" should you hear this between two men, it is about yakuza.
Direct addressing is more of a cultural problem than a grammatical one. Although there are a large number of words that mean “you”, addressing someone directly is generally avoided. The most direct equivalent of “you” is あ な た anata, but is only used among peers or friends. Instead, it is preferred to address someone by their status or, if necessary, their name, with the additional help of suitable courtesy titles.
- さ ん -san
- The most frequently used title and roughly equivalent to Mr. or Mrs. (no distinction in Japanese).山田 さ ん Yamada-san: "Mr. Yamada"
- 様 -sama
- One step more polite than -san, is used to address higher-ranking people.
- お 客 さ ん okyaku-san
- “Dear customer,” is used by employees of a shop or hotel to address you.
- 店長 さ ん tenchō-san
- The best way to address a shopkeeper.
- お 兄 さ ん onī-san, お 姉 さ ん onē-san
- Literal “Brother” or “sister” is often used to address young people for whom one would otherwise not know a better title.
- お 爺 さ ん ojī-san, お 婆 さ ん obā-san
- "Grandpa" or "Grandma," is often used to address old people.
- 社長 shacho
- The boss of the company.
- そ ち ら sochira
- Means as much as "on your side" and, accompanied by a corresponding hand movement, is usually used as the last straw if no better address can be found.
- Tennō haika
- is the only respectful way about the "emperor," d. H. to speak the "heavenly majesty". (The maiden name of a Tennō is not known to many Japanese. The one called Hirohito by disrespectful barbarians is correctly the Shōwa Tennō.)
There are also several ways of speaking about yourself, where 私 watashi is the most commonly used form and equates to a normally polite "I". However, since it is usually grammatically unnecessary to refer to yourself repeatedly, you can and should avoid the word “I” just like “you”. In certain situations it is also common to call yourself by name to refer to yourself. However, one must never do this -san or even -sama attach, this is reserved exclusively for others.
There are no special forms for "we," "her," or "they". To refer to a group of people, the plural affix た ち is used instead -tachi. This is attached to a member of a group or to a group identifier itself, if available. E.g .:
- 私 た ち watashi-tachi
- literally "the group around me," in German "we"
- あ な た た ち anata-tachi
- "The group around you," "you"
- 子 供 た ち kodomo-tachi
- "The group of children," the children
- 山田 さ ん た ち Yamada-san-tachi
- "The group around Mr. Yamada," everyone that one would (contextually) associate with Mr. Yamada
Idioms
An overview of the most important idioms. The order is based on the likely frequency of their use.
Basics
- 営 業 中
- open
- 準備 中
- closed
- 入口
- Entrance
- 出口
- Exit
- 大 ・ 中 ・ 小
- large / medium / small
- 押
- to press
- 引
- pull
- お 手洗 い
- Toilet
- 男
- Men
- 女
- Women
- 禁止
- forbidden
- 円
- Yen (Japanese: en)
- Good day
- こ ん に ち は。 Kon'nichiwa.
- How are you?
- お 元 気 で す か? Ogenki desu ka?
- Good thank you
- 元 気 で す。 Genki desu.
- What's your name?
- お 名 前 は 何 で す か? Onamae wa nan desu ka?
- My name is ...
- ... で す。 ... desu.
... と 申 し ま す。 ... to mōshimasu. (more polite) - Nice to meet you
- 始 め ま し て。 Hajimemashite (only at the very first meeting, usually visa cards are exchanged.)
- Where are you from?
- ど こ の 方 で す か? Doko no kata desu ka?
- I'm from ...
- ... か ら 来 ま し た。 ... kara kimashita.
- I'm German)
- 〔ド イ ツ〕 人 で す。 (Doitsu) -jin desu.
- Germany
- ド イ ツ doitsu
- Austria
- オ ー ス ト リ ア ōsutoria
- Switzerland
- ス イ ス suisu
- You're welcome (give it to me)
- 下 さ い kudasai
- You're welcome (do it for me)
- お 願 い し ま す onegai shimasu
- Here you go (as an offer)
- ど う ぞ dozo
- thanks
- あ り が と う arigatō
- My pleasure
- ど う い た し ま し て。 Dōitashimashite.
- Yes
- は い shark (In the sense of, "I heard you," does not necessarily indicate consent.)
- Yes it is")
- そ う で す sō des ’ (agreeing, a kind of "yes."
- No
- い い え iie(See box "No, thank you. Really.")
- sorry
- す み ま せ ん。 Sumimasen.
- (Please excuse me
- ご め ん な さ い。 Gomen'nasai.
The Japanese are known to be difficult to say "no". That may be because the word that comes closest to a "no" is い い え iie, mainly used to downplay compliments ("Your Japanese is excellent." "Iie, far from it!"). However, there are many ways of saying “no” without saying no. Here are some of the most common:
良 い で す。 or 結構 で す。
Ii desu, or Kekkō desu: “It's [already] good.” Used to refer to offers that are meant to be helpful, such as another beer or warming up the one that has just been bought bentōs to refuse or to prevent generally unwanted changes. Since “it is good” can also be understood differently, one should make one's opinion clearly understandable by pulling breath-through-the-teeth or waving the hand.ち ょ っ と 難 し い で す ・ ・ ・ '
Chotto muzukashii desu: Taken literally, this phrase means “it's a bit difficult”, in practice it means “there is no such thing.” If the person you're talking to grimaces, sucks air through your teeth and starts with “chotto ...”, don't let them hang down and drag Your request back. Nobody will ever finish a sentence started like this.申 し 訳 な い で す け ど ・ ・ ・
Mōshiwakenai desu kedo ..: "It is unforgivable, but ..." But there is also no. If it works exactly like "chotto ...", react best with one "Aa, wakarimashita," "Oh, I see."駄 目 で す。
Lady desu: "It's pointless" is about the most straightforward 'no' you will ever hear. Is generally only used by people of the same or higher rank to inform you that you are not allowed to do or have something. The Kansai equivalent is akan.
Chigaimasu: “It's different.” Mostly you mean you and where you are with your opinion. In informal situations, I also like to just chigau used in Kansai chau.
- Goodbye
- さ よ う な ら。 Sayonara (only formal contact and among middle-aged women).
- Bye (informal)
- そ れ で は。 Sore dewa.
or ま た ね。 Mata ne. - I don't (hardly) speak Japanese
- 日本語 が (ほ と ん ど) 話 せ ま せ ん。 Nihongo ga (hotondo) hanasemasen.
- Do you speak German / English?
- ド イ ツ 語 ・ 英語 を 話 せ ま す か? Doitsugo / eigo o hanasemasu ka?
- Does anyone here speak German / English?
- だ れ か ド イ ツ 語 ・ 英語 を 話 せ ま す か? Dareka doitsugo / eigo o hanasemasu ka?
- Please speak slowly
- ゆ っ く り 話 し て く だ さ い。 Yukkuri hanashite kudasai.
- Please repeat that again (slowly)
- も う 一度 (ゆ っ く り) 言 っ て く だ さ い。 Mō ichido (yukkuri) itte kudasai.
- Help!
- た す け て! Tasukete!
- Attention!
- あ ぶ な い! Abunai!
- Good Morning
- お 早 う ご ざ い ま す。 Ohayō gozaimasu.
- Good evening
- こ ん ば ん は。 Konbanwa.
- Good night
- お 休 み な さ い。 Oyasuminasai.
- I do not understand that
- 分 か り ま せ ん。 Wakarimasen (Often reinforced by an introduced zenzen & hellip "not at all").
- Where is the toilet?
- ト イ レ は ど こ で す か? Toire wa doko desu ka?
Problems
You will hardly ever have to use the first five sentences in Japan.
- Leave me in peace
- ほ っ と い て。 Hottoite.
- Do not touch me!
- さ わ ら な い で! Sawaranaide!
- I'm calling the police
- 警察 を 呼 び ま す。 Keisatsu o yobimasu.
- Police!
- 警察! Keisatsu!
- Stop the thief!
- ど ろ ぼ う 待 て! Dorobo mate!
- I need help
- た す け て く だ さ い。 Tasukete kudasai.
- This is an emergency
- 緊急 で す。 Kinkyū desu.
- I'm lost
- 迷 子 で す。 Maigo desu.
- I lost my bag
- 鞄 を 無 く し ま し た。 Kaban o nakushimashita.
- I lost my wallet
- 財 布 を 落 と し ま し た。 Saifu o otoshimashita.
- I'm sick
- 病 気 で す。 Byōki desu.
- I'm injured
- け が を し ま し た。 Kega o shimashita.
- Please call a doctor
- 医 者 を 呼 ん で く だ さ い。 Isha o yonde kudasai.
- Can I use your telephone?
- 電話 を 使 っ て も い い で す か? Denwa o tsukattemo ii desu ka?
Medical emergencies
Until 1948 medicine was taught exclusively in German at universities. So older doctors (still) understand it. Pharmacies are comparatively rare because doctors dispense drugs themselves.
In an emergency
- I want to see a doctor
- お 医 者 さ ん に 見 て も ら い た い で す。 Oisha-san ni mite moraitai desu.
- Can I see a doctor who speaks German?
- ド イ ツ 語 の 出来 る お 医 者 さ ん は い ま す か? Doitsu-go no dekiru oisha-san wa imasu ka?
- Please take me to a doctor
- お 医 者 さ ん に 連 れ て 行 っ て 下 さ い。 Oisha-san ni tsurete itte kudasai.
- My wife / husband / child is sick
- 妻 ・ 主人 ・ 子 供 が 病 気 で す。 Tsuma / shujin / kodomo ga byōki desu.
- Please call an ambulance
- 救急 車 を 呼 ん で 下 さ い。 Kyūkyūsha o yonde kudasai.
- I need first aid
- 応 急 手 当 を し て 下 さ い。 Ōkyū teate o shite kudasai.
- I have to go to the emergency room
- 救急 室 に 行 か な け れ ば な り ま せ ん。 Kyūkyūshitsu ni ikanakereba narimasen.
Shorter: 救急 室 に 行 か な い と。 Kyūkyūshitsu ni ikanai to. - How long will it be before recovery?
- 治 る ま で ど の 位 か か り ま す か?Naoru made dono kurai kakarimasu ka?
- Where is a pharmacy?
- 薬 局 は ど こ で す か? Yakkyoku wa doko desu ka?
Explain symptoms
- head
- 頭 atama
- face
- 顔 kao
- eyes
- 目 me
- nose
- 鼻 hana
- neck
- 喉 nodo
- chin
- 顎 ago
- neck
- 首 kubi
- Shoulders
- 肩 kata
- chest
- 胸 mune
- hip
- 腰 koshi
- poor
- 腕 ude
- Wrists
- 手 首 tekubi
- finger
- 指 yubi
- hands
- 手 te
- Elbow
- 肘 hiji
- butt
- お 尻 oshiri
- Thigh
- 腿 momo
- knee
- 膝 hiza
- Legs / feet
- 足 ashi
- My ... hurts
- ... が 痛 い。 ... ga itai.
- I have fever
- 熱 が あ り ま す。 Netsu ga arimasu.
- I have cough
- 咳 が で ま す。 Seki ga demasu.
- I feel listless
- 体 が だ る い。 Karada ga darui.
- I feel sick
- 吐 き 気 が し ま す。 Hakike ga shimasu.
- I feel dizzy
- め ま い が し ま す。 Memai ga shimasu.
- I'm cold / I have chills
- 寒 気 が し ま す。 Samuke ga shimasu.
- I swallowed something
- 何 か を 呑 ん で し ま い ま し た。 Nanika o nonde shimaimashita.
- I'm bleeding
- 出血 で す。 Shukketsu desu.
- I have a broken bone
- 骨折 で す。 Kossetsu desu.
- He / she is passed out
- 意識 不明 で す。 Ishiki fumei desu.
- I burned myself
- 火 傷 で す。 Yakedo desu.
- I have difficulty breathing
- 呼吸 困難 で す。 Kokyū konnan desu.
- I / he / she is having a heart attack
- 心 臓 発 作 で す。 Shinzō hossa desu.
- My eyesight has gotten worse
- 視力 が 落 ち ま し た。 Shiryoku ga ochimashita.
- I have hearing problems
- 耳 が 良 く 聴 こ え ま せ ん。 Mimi ga yoku kikoemasen.
- I have a heavy nosebleed
- 鼻血 が 良 く で ま す。 Hanaji ga yoku demasu.
Allergies
- I am allergic to ...
- 私 は ... ア レ ル ギ ー で す。 Watashi wa ... arerugii desu.
- Antibiotics
- 抗 生 物質 kōsei busshitsu (are very happy to be prescribed)
- aspirin
- ア ス ピ リ ン asupirin
- peanuts
- ピ ー ナ ッ ツ pīnattsu
- codeine
- コ デ イ ン codeine
- seafood
- 魚 介 類 gyokairui
- Dairy products
- 乳製品 nyūseihin
- Nuts, fruits and berries from the tree
- 木 の 実 ki no mi
- Food coloring
- 人工 着色 料 jinkō chakushokuryō
- Food additives (glutamates)
- 味 の 素 ajinomoto
- penicillin
- ペ ニ シ リ ン penishirin
- Mushrooms
- 菌類 kinrui
- Mushrooms (such as mushrooms, etc.)
- キ ノ コ kinoko
- Pollen
- 花粉 kafun
- Shellfish
- 貝類 kairui
- sesame
- ゴ マ goma
- wheat
- 小麦 komugi
numbers
Although Arabic numbers are mainly used in Japan these days, you will occasionally find traditional Japanese numbers on menus in expensive restaurants or in marketplaces. These numbers are practically identical to those used in China, also in the sense that one counts in groups of four and not groups of three. One million is thus 百万 hyaku-man ("One hundred ten thousand"). The unit 万 man, Ten thousand, is commonly used in Japanese and in yen is on the order of the equivalent of 100 euros.
There is both Japanese and Chinese pronunciations for most numbers, with the Chinese pronunciation predominantly used. There shi can also mean “death”, for 'four' and 'seven' one also likes to use the Japanese alternatives yon and nana back.
In certain combinations, the pronunciation of some numbers or counting units changes, e.g. E.g .: 二百 ni-hyaku, but 三百 san-byaku;一杯 ippai, but 二 杯 ni-hai. This works in a similar way to German, when a connecting consonant is inserted between two words. The general rule is: If a combination of words is difficult to roll off the tongue, the "umlaut" version of the first syllable of the second word is used. But it doesn’t affect comprehensibility if you do it wrong.
In Japanese, to count things, special counting units are used, such as “sheet” in “50 sheets of paper” (紙 50枚kami gojuMay). While units in German are mostly optional or implied, in Japanese they are mandatory for practically all numbers. Indeed, there is a tremendous amount of counting unit words, the plural of which are untranslatable (e.g. 車 2台curuma ni-dai - “two cars,” with 台 dai one counts machines). Here is a list of the most commonly used units:
- little things like apples or candy
- 個 -ko
- People
- 人 -nin
名 様 -meisama (more polite) - flat objects such as papers, cards or tickets
- 枚 -May
- long objects like bottles, books or pens
- 本 -hon
- Cups and glasses
- 杯 -shark
- Overnight stays
- 泊 -haku
For a more detailed list, see List of Japanese counting words.
Für Nummern von eins bis neun wird häufig ein älteres Zählsystem verwendet, bei dem man die Einheiten weglassen kann. Die Aussprache der Zahlen weicht von der Standardaussprache ab, allerdings lohnt sich die doppelte Lernarbeit durchaus:
- 1
- 一つ hitotsu
- 2
- 二つ futatsu
- 3
- 三つ mittsu
- 4
- 四つ yottsu
- 5
- 五つ itsutsu
- 6
- 六つ muttsu
- 7
- 七つ nanatsu
- 8
- 八つ yattsu
- 9
- 九つ kokonotsu
- 0
- 〇 zero, ugs. maru ("rund")
- 1
- 一 ichi
- 2
- 二 ni
- 3
- 三 san
- 4
- 四 yon or shi
- 5
- 五 go
- 6
- 六 roku
- 7
- 七 nana or shichi
- 8
- 八 hachi
- 9
- 九 kyū
- 10
- 十 jū
- 11
- 十一 jū-ichi
- 12
- 十二 jū-ni
- 13
- 十三 jū-san
- ...
- 20
- 二十 ni-jū
- 21
- 二十一 ni-jū-ichi
- 22
- 二十二 ni-jū-ni
- 23
- 二十三 ni-jū-san
- ...
- 30
- 三十 san-jū
- 40
- 四十 yon-jū
- ...
- 100
- 百 hyaku
- 200
- 二百 ni-hyaku
- 300
- 三百 san-byaku
- ...
- 1000
- 千 sen
- 2000
- 二千 ni-sen
- ...
- 10.000
- 一万 ichi-man
- 12.345
- 一万二千三百四十五 ichi-man ni-sen san-byaku yon-jū go
- 1.000.000
- 百万 hyaku-man
- 100.000.000
- 一億 ichi-oku
- 1.000.000.000.000
- 一兆 itchō
- 0,5
- 〇・五 rei ten go
- 0,56
- 〇・五六 rei ten gō-roku
- (Zug, Bus, etc.) Nummer ...
- … 番 -ban
- halb, die Hälfte
- 半分 hanbun
- weniger/wenig
- 少ない sukunai
- mehr/viel
- 多い ooi
Zeit
Ausführlich zu Japanische Zeitrechnung
Zeit
- jetzt
- 今 ima
- später
- 後で ato de
- vorher
- 前に mae ni
- heute
- 今日 kyō or kon'nichi
- gestern
- 昨日 kinō
- morgen
- 明日 ashita
- übermrgen
- assate
- (der) Morgen
- 朝 asa
- Mittag
- 昼 hiru
- Abend
- 夕方 yūgata
- Nacht
- 夜 yoru
- Mitternacht
- 真夜中 mayonaka
- Vormittag
- 午前 gozen
- Nachmittag
- 午後 gogo
- diese Woche
- 今週 konshū
- letzte Woche
- 先週 senshū
- nächste Woche
- 来週 raishū
- Wochenende
- 週末 shūmatsu
Uhrzeit
- ein Uhr
- 1時 ichiji
- ein Uhr fünfundzwanzig
- 1時25分 ichiji nijūgofun
- halb drei
- 2時30分 niji sanjuppun
2時半 niji han („zwei Uhr halb“) - ein Uhr nachmittags
- 午後1時 gogo ichiji
13時 jūsanji - acht Uhr (morgens)
- (午前)8時 (gozen) hachiji
- acht Uhr abends
- 夕方8時 yūgata hachiji
20時 nijūji (seltener)
Beachten Sie, dass für Uhrzeiten nach Mitternacht oft nach 24 Uhr weitergezählt wird. So haben viele Bars und Cafes bis 26 oder 28 Uhr geöffnet. Zeiten werden meist mit arabischen Zahlen geschrieben, Kanji kommen nur äußerst selten zum Einsatz.
Dauer
- ... Sekunde(n)
- … 秒 byō
- ... Minute(n)
- … 分 fun
- ... Stunde(n)
- … 時間 jikan
- ... Tag(e)
- … 日間 nichikan (s. unregelmäßige Liste japanischer Zählwörter)
- ... Woche(n)
- … 週間 shūkan
- ... Monate(n)
- … ヶ月 kagetsu
- ... Jahr(e)
- … 年 nen
Tage
Daten werden meist im Format Jahr/Monat/Tag (Wochentag) angegeben, mit entsprechenden Abgrenzungen:
2008年2月22日(金)
22. Februar 2008 (Freitag)
Häufig wird auch die japanische Imperiale Zeitrechnung verwendet, welche auf der Regierungszeit des aktuellen Tennōs basiert. So entspricht das Jahr 2008 des Gregorianischen Kalenders dem Jahr 平成20年 Heisei 20, was auch als H20 abgekürzt wird. Hesei ist in diesem Zusammenhang ein Nengō, was sozusagen der gewählte Leitgedanke der Ära ist. Das obige Datum kann also auch als 20年2月22日 oder 20/2/22 angegeben werden. Die aktuellen und letzten Ären des japanischen Kalenders sind:
- 令和 Reiwa
- seit 2019, 令和1年
- 平成 Heisei
- 1989 bis 2019, 平成1年 - 平成31年
- 昭和 Shōwa
- 1926 bis 1989, 昭和1年 - 昭和64年
- 大正 Taishō
- 1912 bis 1926, 大正1年 - 大正15年
- 明治 Meiji
- 1868 bis 1912, 明治1年 - 明治45年
- Montag
- 月曜日 getsuyōbi
- Dienstag
- 火曜日 kayōbi
- Mittwoch
- 水曜日 suiyōbi
- Donnerstag
- 木曜日 mokuyōbi
- Freitag
- 金曜日 kin'yōbi
- Samstag
- 土曜日 doyōbi
- Sonntag
- 日曜日 nichiyōbi
Monate
- Januar
- 1月 ichigatsu
- Februar
- 2月 nigatsu
- März
- 3月 sangatsu
- April
- 4月 shigatsu
- Mai
- 5月 gogatsu
- Juni
- 6月 rokugatsu
- Juli
- 7月 shichigatsu
- August
- 8月 hachigatsu
- September
- 9月 kugatsu
- Oktober
- 10月 jūgatsu
- November
- 11月 jūichigatsu
- Dezember
- 12月 jūnigatsu
The Ko-so-a-do System ist die japanische Art, "das da" zu sagen. Der Name bezieht sich auf die erste Silbe einer Reihe von Wörtern, die einen Ort oder eine Richtung vom Gesichtspunkt des Sprechers aus erklären.
- こ ko- - nahe dem Sprecher
- そ so- - nahe dem Angesprochenen
- あ a- - weder in der Nähe des Sprechers noch des Angesprochenen
- ど do- - Frage
Diese Silben kommen in einer Reihe von Hilfswörtern vor, wie den folgenden:
- unbestimmte Objekte
- これ kore "das hier"
- それ sore "das dort"
- あれ are "das dort drüben"
- どれ dore "welches" (von drei oder mehr)
- bestimmte Objekte
- この… kono... "diese/r/s ... hier"
- その… sono... "diese/r/s ... dort"
- あの… ano... "diese/r/s ... dort drüben"
- どの… dono... "welche/r/s ..."
- places
- ここ koko "hier"
- そこ soko "dort"
- あそこ asoko "dort drüben"
- どこ doko "wo"
- Richtungen
- こち kochi "hier her" (Richtung des Sprechers)
- そち sochi "dort hin" (Richtung des Angesprochenen)
- あち achi "da hin" (andere Richtung)
- どち dochi "wohin"
- Personen (mit Vorsicht zu gebrauchen)
- こいつ koitsu "der/die hier"
- そいつ soitsu "der/die da"
- あいつ aitsu "der/die da drüben"
- どいつ doitsu "wer" (ungewöhnlich)
Farben
Japanisch | Neu-Jenglisch |
---|---|
|
|
Transport
Bus und Bahn
Zug (列車 ressha) kann in den folgenden Beispielen einfach gegen Bus (バス basu) oder (Straßen-)Bahn (電車 densha) ausgetauscht werden.
- Was kostet eine Fahrkarte nach ... ?
- … までの切符はいくらですか?
... made no kippu wa ikura desu ka? - Bitte eine/zwei/drei Fahrkarte/n nach ...
- … までの切符を1/2/3枚ください。
... made no kippu o ichi/ni/san mai kudasai. - Wohin fährt dieser Zug?
- この列車はどこ行きですか?
Kono ressha wa doko yuki desu ka? - Wo ist der Zug nach ... ?
- … 行きの列車はどこですか?
... yuki no ressha wa doko desu ka? - Hält dieser Zug in (der Nähe von) ... ?
- この列車は …(の近く)で停まりますか?
Kono ressha wa ... (no chikaku) de tomarimasu ka? - Wann fährt der Zug nach ... ab?
- … 行きの列車はいつ出発しますか?
... yuki no ressha wa itsu shuppatsu shimasu ka? - Wann kommt dieser Zug in ... an?
- この列車はいつ … に着きますか?
Kono ressha wa itsu ... ni tsukimasu ka?
taxi
- Taxi!
- タクシー! Takushī!
- Zum/zur/nach ... bitte
- … までお願いします。 ... made onegai shimasu.
- Wieviel kostet es bis zum/zur/nach ... ?
- … までいくらですか? ... made ikura desu ka?
- Bringen Sie mich bitte dahin
- そこまでお願いします。 Soko made onegai shimasu.
(Man darf von Taxlern in großen Städten keine Ortskunde erwarten.)
Richtungsauskünfte
Im Japanischen kann praktisch jedem Wort die respektvolle Vorsilbe お O or ご go (auch 御 geschrieben) vorangestellt werden, was oft als "(sehr) geehrte/r/s" übersetzt wird. In einigen Fällen macht dies Sinn und ist durchaus erwartet, wie in お父さん otōsan, "geehrter Vater". In anderen Fällen erscheint es dagegen eigenartig, wie in お尻 oshiri, "ehrenwerter Hintern".
Dem japanischen Höflichkeitssystem nach wird erwartet, dass man Dinge, die einen selbst angehen, herunterspielt und Dinge, die den Angesprochenen betreffen, in ein besseres Licht rückt. Entsprechend wird man sich nach Ihrer werten Gesundheit お元気 ogenki erkundigen, und Sie werden lediglich antworten, dass Sie 元気 genki sind. Einige Begriffe sind inzwischen untrennbar geworden von ihrer werten Vorsilbe, wie お茶 ocha (Tee) und ご飯 gohan (Reis).- Wie komme ich nach/zum/zur ... ?
- … に行くにはどうしたら良いですか? ... ni iku ni wa dōshitara ii desu ka?
- Bahnhof
- 駅 eki
- Bushaltestelle
- バス停 basu tei
- Airport
- 空港 kūkō
- Jugendherberge
- ユースホステル yūsu hosuteru
- Hotel "..."
- 「…」ホテル "..." hoteru
- deutschen/schweizer/österreichischen Botschaft
- ドイツ/スイス/オーストリア大使館 doitsu/suisu/ōsutoria taishikan
- Wo gibt es viele ... ?
- … がたくさんあるのはどこですか? ... ga takusan aru no wa doko desu ka?
- Hotels
- ホテル hoteru
- Restaurants
- レストラン resutoran
- Bars
- ナイトバー naitō bā
- Kneipen/Pubs
- パブ pabu
- Tourist Attractions
- 見どころ midokoro
- Können Sie mir das auf der Karte zeigen?
- 地図で指していただけますか? Chizu de sashite itadakemasu ka?
- road
- 通り dōri
- links
- 左 hidari
- rechts
- 右 migi
- abbiegen
- 曲がる magaru
- geradeaus
- まっすぐ massugu
- nach dem/der ..
- … を過ぎて ... o sugite
… の後で ... no ato de - vor dem/der ..
- … の前で ... no mae de
- Achten Sie auf den/die/das ...
- … に気を付けて。 ... ni kiotsukete.
- Kreuzung
- 交差点 kōsaten
- Ampel
- 信号 shingō
- north
- 北 kita
- south
- 南 minami
- east
- 東 higashi
- Westen
- 西 nishi
- bergauf/aufwärts
- 上り nobori
- bergab/abwärts
- 下り kudari
Geld
- Akzeptieren Sie ... ?
- …は使えますか? ...wa tsukaemasu ka?
- ...Euro
- ユーロ yūro
- ...amerikanische Dollar
- アメリカドル Amerika doru
- ...schweizer Franken
- スイスフラン Suisu furan
- ...britische Pfund
- イギリスポンド Igirisu pondo
- ...Kreditkarten
- クレジットカード kurejitto kādo
- ...Travelerchecks
- トラベラーズチェック Toraberāzu chekku
- Wie ist der Wechselkurs?
- 為替レートはいくらですか? Kawase reeto wa ikura desu ka?
- Können Sie mir Geld wechseln?
- お金両替できますか? Okane ryōgae dekimasu ka?
- Wo kann ich Geld wechseln?
- お金はどこで両替できますか? Okane wa doko de ryōgae dekimasu ka?
- Wo gibt es einen Geldautomaten?
- ATMはどこにありますか?Ētīemu wa doko ni arimasu ka?
- Wo ist eine Bank?
- 銀行はどこにありますか? Ginkō wa doko ni arimasu ka?
- Geld
- お金 okane
- Münze(n)
- 硬貨 kōka
Shopping
- Gibt's das in meiner Größe?
- 私のサイズでありますか? Watashi no saizu de arimasu ka? (Ab Schuhgröße 44 bzw. XL wird die Antwort fast immer „nein“ lauten)
- Wie teuer ist das?
- いくらですか? Ikura desu ka?
- Das ist zu teuer
- 高過ぎます。 Takasugimasu.
- Wie wäre es, wenn ich ihnen dafür ... Yen gäbe?
- ... 円はどうですか? ... en wa dō desu ka? (Gehandelt wird eigentlich nicht.)
- teuer
- 高い takai, – Im Satz z. B.: Honto takai desu, „Das ist (mir) wirklich (zu) teuer.“
- billig
- 安い yasui
- Das kann ich mir nicht leisten
- そんなにお金は持っていません。 Sonna ni okane wa motte imasen.
- Ich will's nicht
- 要らないです。 Iranai desu.
- Ich bin nicht interessiert
- 興味はありません。 Kyōmi wa arimasen.
- Ok, ich nehme es
- はい、それにします。 Hai, sore ni shimasu.
- Könnte ich einen Beutel haben?
- 袋もらっても良いですか? Fukuro moratte mo ī desu ka?
(Japan ist das Land des Verpackungswahns, häufiger gebarauchen wird man den Ausdruck: Fukuro iranai, „Ich brauche/will keine Tüte.“) - Liefern Sie das auch ins Ausland?
- 海外へ発送出来ますか? Kaigai e hassō dekimasu ka?
- Ich möchte ...
- ... が欲しいです。 ... ga hoshī desu.
- ...Zahnpasta
- 歯磨き hamigaki
- ...eine Zahnbürste
- 歯ブラシ haburashi
- ...Tampons
- タンポン tanpon
- ...Seife
- 石鹸 sekken oder ソープ sōpu
- ...Shampoo
- シャンプー shanpū
- ...Schmerzmittel (wie Aspirin etc.)
- 鎮痛剤 chintsūzai
- ...Erkältungsmittel
- 風邪薬 kazegusuri
- ...ein Magenmedikament
- 胃腸薬 ichōyaku
- ...eine Rasierklinge
- 剃刀 kamisori
- ...einen Regenschirm
- 傘 kasa
- ...Sonnenschutzmittel
- 日焼け止め hiyakedome
- ...eine Postkarte
- 葉書 hagaki
- ...Briefmarken
- 切手 kitte
- ...Batterien
- 電池 denchi
- ...Schreibpapier
- 紙 kami
- ...einen Stift
- ペン pen
- ...englischsprachige/deutschsprachige Bücher
- 英語/ドイツ語の本 eigo/doitsugo no hon
- ...englischsprachige/deutschsprachige Zeitschriften
- 英語/ドイツ語の雑誌 eigo/doitsugo no zasshi
- ...eine englischsprachige/deutschsprachige Zeitung
- 英語/ドイツ語の新聞 eigo/doitsugo no shinbun
- ...ein Japanisch-Englisches Wörterbuch
- 和英辞典 waei jiten
- ...ein Japanisch-Deutsches Wörterbuch
- 和独辞典 wadoku jiten
Familie
Im Japanischen gibt man die Zahl der Geschwister inklusive sich selbst an. Wenn Sie also einen Bruder haben, sagen sie 兄弟2人です kyōdai futari desu, "Wir sind zwei Geschwister." Ansonsten würden Sie in gebrochenem Japanisch sagen, dass Sie mit sich alleine sind.
- eine Person / alleine
- 一人 hitori
- zwei Personen
- 二人 futari
- ab drei Personen
- Zahl -nin
三人 san-nin, 四人 yon-nin ...
- Sind Sie verheiratet?
- 結婚していますか? Kekkon shiteimasu ka?
- Ich bin verheiratet
- 結婚しています。 Kekkon shiteimasu.
- Ich bin ledig
- 独身です。 Dokushin desu.
- Haben Sie Geschwister?
- 兄弟がいますか? Kyōdai ga imasu ka?
- Haben Sie Kinder?
- 子供がいますか? Kodomo ga imasu ka?
- Wieviele? (Geschwister, Kinder)
- 何人がいますか? Nan-nin ga imasu ka?
Wenn man im Japanischen über Familien spricht ist es wichtig, für Mitglieder der eigenen Familie weniger höfliche Ausdrücke zu verwenden als für die Mitglieder anderer Familien. Beachten Sie außerdem, dass es kein allgemeines Wort für Bruder und Schwester gibt, es ist entscheidend, ob diese älter oder jünger sind.
die eigene Familie | die Familie anderer |
---|---|
|
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accommodation
- Do you have a room available?
- 空 い て る 部屋 あ り ま す か? Aiteru heya arimasu ka?
- What does a room cost for one / two people?
- 一 人 / 二人 用 の 部屋 は い く ら で す か? Hitori / futari yō no heya wa ikura desu ka?
- Does the room have ...?
- 部屋 は… 付 き で す か? Heya wa ... tsuki desu ka?
- ... a duvet
- ベ ッ ド カ バ ー beddo kabā
- ...a telephone
- 電話 denwa
- ...a TV
- テ レ ビ terebi
- Can I see the room first?
- 先 に 部屋 を 見 る こ と は で き ま す か? Saki ni heya o mirukoto wa dekimasu ka?
- Do you have something ... ?
- も っ と… 部屋 あ り ま す か? Motto ... heya arimasu ka?
- ... calmer
- 静 か な shizuka na
- ... bigger
- 広 い hiroi
- ... cleaner
- き れ い な kirei na
- ... cheaper
- 安 い yasui
- Ok I'll take it
- は い 、 こ れ で 良 い で す。 Hai, kore de ī desu.
- I want to stay ... night (s)
- ... 晩 泊 ま り ま す。 ...- ban tomarimasu.
- Can you recommend another hotel?
- 他 の 宿 は ご 存 知 で す か? Hoka no yado wa gozonji desu ka?
- Do you have ... ?
- ... あ り ま す か? ... arimasu ka?
- ... a safe
- 金庫 kinko
- ...Lockers
- ロ ッ カ ー rokkā
- Is breakfast / dinner included?
- 朝 食 / 夕 食 は 付 き ま す か? Chōshoku / yūshoku wa tsukimasu ka?
- What time is breakfast / dinner?
- 朝 食 / 夕 食 は 何時 で す か? Chōshoku / yūshoku wa nanji desu ka?
- Please clean my room
- 部屋 を 掃除 し て く だ さ い。 Heya o sōji shite kudasai.
- Please wake me up ...
- ... に 起 こ し て く だ さ い。 ... ni okoshite kudasai.
- I want to sign out
- チ ェ ッ ク ア ウ ト で す。 Chekku auto desu.
eat
Most Japanese restaurants (and just as many shops) will greet you with a warm Irasshai! or Irasshaimase! Welcomed by all the staff. You are not expected to react to this in any way. Just take a seat or show a clerk how much you intend to dine and they will show you to a seat.
When you leave the store you will be given at least one Arigatō gozaimashita! thank you, you will often be with me too Mata okoshikudasaimasen ask to come back. This ritual will be all the more cordial when you are with the boss or an employee Gochisōsama deshita to indicate that you enjoyed it particularly well. Still, you never tip.- A table for one / two people, please
- 一 人 / 二人 で す。 Hitori / Futari desu.
- Do you smoke?
- タ バ コ を 吸 い ま す か? Tabako o suimasu ka?
- Smoking compartment
- 喫 煙 席 kitsuenseki
- Non smoking area
- 禁煙 席 kin'enseki
- Would you like to eat here? (if take away option is also available)
- こ こ で 召 し 上 が り ま す か? Koko de meshi agarimasu ka?
- Take away please
- 持 ち 帰 り で。 Mochikaeri de.
テ ー ク ア ウ ト で。 Tēkuauto de. - Could I have the menu?
- メ ニ ュ ー を 下 さ い。 Menyū o kudasai.
- Do they have an English language menu?
- 英語 の メ ニ ュ ー も あ り ま す か? Eigo no menyū mo arimasu ka?
- Is there a house specialty?
- お 勧 め は あ り ま す か? Osusume wa arimasu ka?
- Is there a local specialty?
- こ の 辺 の 名 物 は あ り ま す か? Kono hen no meibutsu wa arimasu ka?
- I'm vegetarian
- ベ ジ タ リ ア ン で す。 Bejitarian desu.
- I do not eat pork
- 豚 肉 は だ め で す。 Butaniku wa dame desu.
- I don't eat beef
- 牛肉 は だ め で す。 Gyūniku wa lady desu.
- I don't eat raw fish.
- 生 の 魚 は だ め で す。 Nama no sakana wa dame desu. (... and in this case I should better look for another travel destination.)
- (With sushi) Without Wasabi, You're welcome. / Wasabi on the side
- Sabi nuki, onegeaishimasu. / Sabi betsu (ni).
- Can you cook it low in fat (with less oil / butter / bacon)?
- 油 を 控 え め に し て く だ さ い。 Abura o hikaeme ni shite kudasai.
- Menu of the day
- 定 食 teishoku
- from the card
- 一 品 料理 ippin ryōri
- breakfast
- 朝 食 chōshoku
- Having lunch
- 昼 食 chushoku
- dinner
- 夕 食 yūshoku
- I would like ..
- ... を く だ さ い。 ... o kudasai.
- chicken
- 鶏 肉 toriniku
- beef
- 牛肉 gyūniku
- ham
- ハ ム hamu
- fish
- 魚 sakana
- sausage
- ソ ー セ ー ジ sōsēji
- cheese
- チ ー ズ chīzu
- Eggs
- 卵 tamago
- salad
- サ ラ ダ sarada
- rice
- ご は ん gohan
or also: ラ イ ス raisu - (fresh vegetables
- (生) 野菜 (nama) yasai
- (fresh fruits
- (生 の) 果物 (nama no) kudamono
- loaf
- パ ン pan (is the cardboard Amivariant)
- toast
- ト ー ス ト tōsuto
- Pasta
- 麺 類 menrui (Generic term, usually one speaks of the individual types: Soba, Udon, Ramen etc.)
- Beans
- 豆 mame
- Could I have a glass / cup ...?
- ... を 一杯 下 さ い。 ... o ippai kudasai. (Water or green tea are often brought free of charge without being asked.)
- Could I have a bottle ...
- ... を 一 本 下 さ い。 ... o ippon kudasai.
- coffee
- コ ー ヒ ー kōhī
- (Green tea
- お 茶 ocha
- black tea
- 紅茶 kōcha
- juice
- ジ ュ ー ス jūsu
- Mineral water
- ミ ネ ラ ル ウ ォ ー タ ー mineraru wōtā
- water
- 水 mizu
- Red wine / white wine
- 赤 / 白 ワ イ ン aka / shiro wain (if drinkable quality, expensive)
- beer
- ビ ー ル bīru
- Could I have something ...
- ... は あ り ま す か? ... wa arimasu ka?
- salt
- 塩 shio
- Pepper
- 胡椒 koshō
- butter
- バ タ ー batā
- You're welcome ..
- ... を 下 さ い。 ... o kudasai.
- ... a fork
- フ ォ ー ク fōku
- ... a knife
- ナ イ フ naifu
- ... a spoon
- ス プ ー ン supūn
- ... a pair of chopsticks
- お 箸 ohashi; Disposable swabs: waribashi.
- Sorry waiter?
- す み ま せ ん。 Sumimasen.
- I'm done
- 終 わ り ま し た。 Owarimashita.
- It was delicious
- ご 馳 走 さ ま で し た。 Gochisō sama deshita.
- Please clear the table
- お 皿 を 下 げ て く だ さ い。 Osara o said kudasai.
- The Bill please
- お 勘定 お 願 い し ま す。 Okanjō onegai shimasu. (Payment is then made at the cash register, not at the service.)
Pubs
Sake (酒 "alcohol"), more precisely called 酒 in Japanese nihonshu ("Japanese alcohol"), has its own vocabulary. Below is a brief introduction.
- 熱 燗 atsukan
- Warm sake. Recommended only in winter and only for cheap sake.
- 冷 や し hiyashi, 冷 酒 reishu
- Chilled sake. The right way to drink better sake.
- 一 升 瓶 isshōbin
- The normal size for sake bottles. Contains 10 合 gō or 1.8 liters.
- 一 合 ichigō
- The standard unit for serving sake, approximately 180ml.
- 徳 利 tokkuri
- A small ceramic bottle for pouring sake contains a 合 gō.
- 升 masu
- A square wooden vessel used to drink chilled sake. Also contains a 合 gō. It is drunk from a corner.
- ち ょ こ chocolate
- A small ceramic bowl just big enough for a sip of sake.
- Do you serve alcohol?
- お 酒 あ り ま す か? Osake arimasu ka?
- Do you serve at the table?
- テ ー ブ ル サ ー ビ ス あ り ま す か? Tēburu sābisu arimasu ka?
- One or two beers, please
- ビ ー ル 一杯 / 二 杯 下 さ い。 Bīru ippai / nihai kudasai.
- A glass of white / red wine, please
- 赤 / 白 ワ イ ン 一杯 下 さ い。 Aka / shiro wain ippai kudasai.
- A liter of beer, please
- ビ ー ル の ジ ョ ッ キ 下 さ い。 Bīru no jokki kudasai. ("Maß" is only available in the Hofbräuhaus in Tokyo and half of the waiters are from Bavaria. Otherwise, pitchers, in the sense of the American "pitcher") are served.)
- A bottle, please
- ビ ン 下 さ い。 Am kudasai.
- ... and please. (Mixed drink)
- ... と ... 下 さ い。 ... to ... kudasai.
- japanese liquor
- 焼 酎 shochu (can only be enjoyed in mixed drinks)
- whiskey
- ウ イ ス キ ー uisukī (expensive prestige drink)
- Vodka
- ウ ォ ッ カ wokka
- rum
- ラ ム ramu
- water
- 水 mizu
- soda
- ソ ー ダ soda
- tonic
- ト ニ ッ ク ウ ォ ー タ ー tonikku uōtā
- orange juice
- オ レ ン ジ ジ ュ ー ス orenji jūsu
- cola
- コ ー ラ kōra
- on ice
- オ ン ザ ロ ッ ク onzarokku
- Do you have any snacks?
- お つ ま み あ り ま す か? Otsumami arimasu ka? (Beware, it can be a cost trap in entertainment districts.)
- One more please
- も う 一 つ 下 さ い。 Mō hitotsu kudasai, or Mō ippai / ippon, "Another bottle."
- Another round, please. ("The same thing for everyone again.")
- み ん な に 同 じ も の を 一杯 ず つ く だ さ い。 Minna ni onaji mono o ippai zutsu kudasai.
- When do you close?
- 閉 店 は 何時 で す か? Heiten wa nanji desu ka?
Road traffic
- I would like to rent a car
- レ ン タ カ ー お 願 い し ま す。 Rentakā onegai shimasu.
- Can i have insurance?
- 保 険 入 れ ま す か? Hoken hairemasu ka? (Is usually mandatory anyway.)
- Do you have a driver's license?
- 免 許 証 を 持 っ て い ま す か? Menkyoshō o moth imasu ka?
- Stop (street sign)
- 止 ま れ ・ と ま れ tomare
- one way street
- 一方 通行 ippō tsukō
- Attention
- 徐 行 jokō
- No parking
- 駐 車 禁止 chusha kinshi
- speed limit
- 制 限 速度 seigen sokudo
- Gas station
- ガ ソ リ ン ス タ ン ド gasorin sutando
- petrol
- ガ ソ リ ン gasorin
- diesel
- 軽 油 keiyu / デ ィ ー ゼ ル dīzeru
On the phone
- phone
- 電話 denwa
- Phone number
- 電話 番号 denwa bangō
- phone book
- 電話 帳 denwa chō
- Answering machine
- 留守 番 電話 rusuban denwa
- Hello Hello?
- も し も し moshi moshi they say always when taking off.
- Mr / Ms ... please
- ... を お 願 い し ま す。 ... o onegaishimasu.
- Is ... to speak?
- ... は い ら っ し ゃ い ま す か? ... wa irasshaimasu ka?
- Who is talking, please?
- ど な た で す か? Donata desu ka?
- One moment please
- ち ょ っ と お 待 ち く だ さ い。 Chotto omachi kudasai.
- ... is currently unavailable
- ... は 今 い ま せ ん。 ... wa ima imasen.
- I'll call again later
- 又 後 で 電話 し ま す。 Mata ato de denwa shimasu.
- I called the wrong number
- 間 違 え ま し た。 Machigaemashita.
- It is occupied
- 話 し 中 で す。 Hanashichu desu.
- What is your phone number?
- 電話 番号 は 何 番 で す か? Denwa bangō wa nanban desu ka?
- (At the end of a conversation)
- Shizuraishimasu "I'm rude" or even more polite Yoroshiku, Shizuraishimasu.
(It is always amusing to see Japanese people bowing on the phone. If you start out as a foreigner yourself, you will be in the country too long!)
authority
- I did nothing wrong
- 何 も (悪 い こ と) し て ま せ ん。 Nani mo (warui koto) shitemasen. (Is a statement interpreted as arrogant, the question form would be better.)
- It was a misunderstanding
- 誤解 で し た。 Gokai deshita.
- Where are you taking me
- ど こ へ 連 れ て 行 く の で す か? Doko e tsurete yukuno desu ka?
- Am i arrested?
- 私 は 逮捕 さ れ て る の で す か? Watashi wa taiho sareteru no desu ka?
- I would like to speak to the German / Austrian / Swiss embassy
- ド イ ツ / オ ー ス ト リ ア / ス イ ス 大使館 と 話 し し た い で す。 Doitsu / ōsutoria / suisu taishikan to hanashitai desu.
- I want to speak to a lawyer
- 弁 護士 と 話 し た い で す。 Bengoshi to hanashitai desu.
- Can't I just pay a fine?
- 罰金 で 済 み ま す か? Bakkin de sumimasu ka?
(No, you must first show styles of Maoist self-criticism through a letter of apology in Japanese. Minor offenses can be eradicated.)
(It should be noted that arrested persons are allowed to stay for three days, or 23 days by order of the prosecutor incommunicado may be held - nothing with a lawyer etc. "We have our methods to get you to confess." i)
Typical Japanese expressions
If something cannot be expressed in less than two by two syllables, it is too long. Here are some of the most common Japanese abbreviations:
- デ ジ カ メ deji kame
- → デ ジ タ ル カ メ ラ dejitaru camera, a digital camera.
- パ ソ コ ン pasokon
- → パ ー ソ ナ ル コ ン ピ ュ ー タ ー pāsonaru konpyūtā, a personal computer.ノ ー ト nōto is short for notebook.
- プ リ ク ラ purikura
- → プ リ ン ト ク ラ ブ purinto kurabu ("Print club"). A souped-up photo booth, a popular pastime among young people.
- パ チ ス ロ pachi suro
- → パ チ ン コ & ス ロ ッ ト pachinko & surotto, Gambling halls the Pachinko and offer slot machines. (Theoretically only prizes in kind. Pieces of chocolate, wrapped in different colors, can be exchanged for cash at a small window around the corner.)
- KY kei wai
- → 空 気 読 め な い kūki yomenai, “Illegible atmosphere,” denotes a mysterious or withdrawn person.
- そ う で す ね。 Sō desu ne
- "That's it, isn't it?"
Is generally used to express approval. Thanks to the appended “isn't it?”, This sentence is often passed back and forth several times, especially among older people. - (大 変) お 待 た せ し ま し た。 (Taihen) omataseshimashita.
"I kept you waiting (terribly) for a long time."
"... but now it goes on." Often used to get things going again, even if you didn't really have to wait.- お 疲 れ さ ま で し た。 Otsukaresama deshita:
- "It was an honored fatigue."
If you say to colleagues at the end of the day in the sense of “You made an effort, good job” or simply “Have a nice evening”. Also used at the end of other activities. - 頑 張 っ て! Ganbatte!
- "Make an effort!"
Often used as an incentive or encouragement. - い た だ き ま す。 Itadakimasu: "I am received."
To yourself instead of “Bon appetit” or when you accept something on offer. - 失礼 し ま す。 Shitsureishimasu
- "I will disturb / be rude."
If you go into someone else's apartment or your supervisor's room, have to walk past someone, want to attract someone's attention, or in general have to disturb. Also as the final phrase of a phone call. - 失礼 し ま し た。 Shitsureishimashita
- "I bothered / was rude."
When leaving someone else's apartment, etc. or if you haven't told them beforehand. - 大丈夫。 Daijōbu
- "It's good / okay."
For general reassurance or insurance. With desu ka? used to inquire whether something or someone is okay. - 凄 い! Sugoi!
- "Crazy !," "Great !," "Great!"
(Extremely popular and overused, especially among girls.) - 可愛 い! Kawaii!
- "How sweet!"
(Also overused.) - え え ぇ 〜 Eee ~
- "Eeeeech?"
Virtually a standard reaction to any kind of news. Endlessly stretchy and therefore useful when you need time to come up with a real answer. - ウ ソ! Uso!
- "Lie!"
Doesn't necessarily accuse you of lying, often used in the sense of “not serious, right ?!”. - Honto?
- "Really?" A statement rather doubts.
- Samui / Atsui, desu nē
- “It's cold / hot today” is less of a statement about the weather than a form of greeting among friends / neighbors. (For the Japanese it is therefore always “cold” up to 21½ ° C and “hot” from 22½ ° - it fits in between.)
Swear words
Hopefully you never have to and never hear of them, but just in case, it's good to know some.
- idiot
- バ カ baka
ア ホ aho (Kansaidialect) - do something stupid
- ま ぬ け manuke
- Sleepyhead
- の ろ ま noroma
- bad (something ~ can)
- 下手 heta
- Bungler
- 下手 糞 hetakuso
- Stingy
- ケ チ kechi
- Ugly (about woman)
- busu
- Old man)
- ジ ジ イ jijī
- Old
- バ バ ア babā
- not cool
- ダ サ イ dasai
- annoying
- ウ ザ イ uzai
- (somebody is) creepy
- 気 持 ち 悪 い kimochi warui
キ モ イ kimoi - Fuck you!
- く た ば れ! Kutabare!
- Fuck off!
- ど け! Doke!
- Keep your mouth shut
- う る さ い。 Urusai. (literally "loud", is also used in other contexts)
- temes
- “You” (mentioned above) is also highly offensive.
Web links
Further information on the Japanese writing system can be found on Wikipedia: