Japanese is the sixth most spoken language in the world, with over 99% percent of the Japan’s population using it. The language is hardly spoken in any other country. The origin of the Japanese language is believed to be similar to Mongolian. It is close in structure to the Korean language.
Picking up some common Japanese words and phrases is easy
If your target is some small talk with Tokyo people,you don’t need to be walking around with a Japanese dictionary. If you know some basic japanese, you’ll get lots of admiration from the Japanese people, who appreciate the efforts.
Yes-Hai No- Iie Thank you -Arigato Excuse me- Sumimasen Please (when offering something)- Dozo
Please (when asking for something)- Kudasai or Onegai shimasu
Basic japanese words about Japanese food and dining
Cooked rice -Gohan miso soup-miso shiru Lunch box- bento Alcohol- o-sake Green tea- o-cha Water-mizu Pickles-tsukemono Usually said before eating- Itadakimasu Do you have an English menu? – Eigo no menyuu wa arimasuka? I’ll take this, please- Kore kudasai What is that?- Sore wa nan desu ka
Check, please- O-kanjou kudasai
Japanese Phrases
I don’t understand Japanese- Nihongo wa wakarimasen Where is the……?- wa doko desu ka? How much does it cost?- Ikura desu ka? See you later- Itte rasshai
How much is this?-Kore wa ikura desu ka
Some more common japanese words
Good morning- Ohayou gozaimasu Good afternoon- Konnichiwa Good evening- Konbanwa Excuse me-Sumimasen How much?-Ikura How many?-ikutsu Right -migi Left- hidari Hello-Konnichi wa here-koko there-soko, asoko When?- itsu
what?- nani
Why not learn how to count from 1-10 in Japanese? Japanese Numbers are easy.
Japanese lessons
In order to communicate with the locals on a daily basis, you may have to study Japanese. The Japanese writing system is not easy. It consists of three methods – Kanji, hiragana and katakana. Chinese language is also based on kanji. There are 46 basic hiragana and katakana characters, and some new combinations too, they can be mastered easily. Learning kanji is the big challenge !! There are almost 2,000 Kanji characters in everyday use. To make things even more complicated – every kanji character can have several different readings.
Best way to learn Japanese is to start with Japanese lessons online. I like to learn Japanese free lessons online. You only need 10 minutes to spare for a brief Japanese lesson.
Please note: the pictures at this page are provided under several Creative Commons licenses.
Japanese Numbers – learn how to count from 1 – 10 and more
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