Essential Japanese phrases and expressions
Useful Japanese for everyday talk. Each line shows the Japanese with its romaji on the left and its English meaning on the right.
Adding Extra Context
- むしろ mushiro On the contrary
- ちなみに chinami ni On a related note
- 今のところ ima no tokoro At the moment
- 確かに tashika ni Certainly / indeed
- もちろん mochiron Of course
- あいにく ainiku Unfortunately
- とにかく tonikaku At any rate
- ついでに tsuide ni Incidentally
- 残念ながら zannen nagara Unfortunately
- ある程度 aru teido To a certain extent
- とりあえず toriaezu For the time being
- しばらく shibaraku For a while
- まだ mada Still
- もう mou Already
- 今の内に ima no uchi ni While you have the chance
- 恐らく osoraku Most likely / I suspect
Sentence Starters
- そう言えば sou ieba Speaking of which,
- だったら dattara In that case,
- ところで tokoro de By the way,
- どちらにしても dochira ni shitemo In either case,
- となると to naru to If that's the case, then..
- かと言って kato itte But even so,
- 強いて言えば shiite ieba If I had to say,
- 思えば、 omoeba Come to think of it,
- それよりも sore yori mo More importantly,
- なんと言うか nanto iu ka How do I put this,
- 少なくとも sukunakutomo At the very least,
- それにしても sore ni shitemo Despite that / even so
- それで sorede And that's why...
- というわけで to iu wake de In summary,
- それでは sore dewa Well ...
- ところが tokoro ga I was surprised to find
Conjunctions
- そこで soko de That's why I did...
- そこを soko o Despite that,
- それが sore ga I don't want to say this, but....
- それなら sore nara If that’s the case, then...
- それでも sore demo In spite of that,
- それはそうと sore wa sou to By the way,
- それはさておき sore wa sate oki By the way,
- その結果 sono kekka As a result,
- ゆえに yue ni That is why
- したがって shitagatte Therefore,
- 例えば tatoeba For example,
- つまり tsumari What I mean is,
- それに sore ni Not only that, also...
- もっとも mottomo But I should add that...
- 実は jitsu wa Actually...
- というのは to iu no wa The reason I say that is,
Everyday Phrases
- 気にしないで！ ki ni shinaide! Don't worry about it!
- お疲れ様です otsukaresama desu Thank you for your hard work / Good job
- 行ってきます ittekimasu I'm off (said when leaving the house)
- ただいま tadaima I'm home (said when returning home)
- お帰りなさい okaeri nasai Welcome back (said when someone returns home)
- どういたしまして dou itashimashite You're welcome
- 本当に？ hontou ni? Really? Seriously?
- 大丈夫です daijoubu desu It's okay / I'm fine
- ちょっと待ってください chotto matte kudasai Please wait a moment
- もう一度お願いします mou ichido onegai shimasu Once more, please?
- どうしたの？ doushita no? What's wrong?
- お大事に！ odaiji ni! Take care / get well soon!
- また後で mata ato de See you later!
- そうしましょう soushimashou Let's do that!
- 失礼します shitsurei shimasu Excuse me (said when entering or leaving a room)
- お邪魔します ojama shimasu Excuse me (for intruding)
- 楽しみにしています tanoshimi ni shite imasu I'm looking forward to it
- 久しぶりです hisashiburi desu Long time no see
- いいですね ii desu ne That's good, isn't it?
- 気をつけて ki o tsukete Take care
- がんばって ganbatte Do your best
- よくできました yoku dekimashita Well done! You did it well!
- 残念です zannen desu That's a pity
- できました dekimashita It's done
- その通りです sono toori desu Exactly
Conversation Devices
- あのう anou "Excuse me." (getting someone's attention)
- ねえ nee (before asking a question)
- あのね anone (before informing the listener of something)
- えーと eeto (hesitation: trying to remember something)
- へえ〜 hee "Oh really?" (that's interesting)
- ほう〜 hou "Oh really?" (that's surprising)
- あれ？ are? (speaker is surprised or puzzled)
- おや？ oya? (speaker is surprised or puzzled)
- おい oi "Hey!" (to get someone's attention)
- やれやれ yareyare (speaker is distressed by something)
- こら kora (speaker is upset with the listener)
- ほら hora "Hurry up already!" or "Look at that!"
- ちぇ che "Whatever" / Tsk!! Fine!
- まあ maa (hesitation: deciding what to say next)
- まあまあ maamaa (attempting to settle someone down)
- よし yoshi "Alright then" (wrapping up)
Greetings
- こんにちは konnichiwa Hello
- おはようございます ohayou gozaimasu Good morning
- こんばんは konbanwa Good evening
- はじめまして hajimemashite Nice to meet you
- よろしくお願いします yoroshiku onegai shimasu Nice to meet you / please treat me well
- さようなら sayounara Goodbye
- おやすみなさい oyasumi nasai Good night
Thanks and Apologies
- ありがとうございます arigatou gozaimasu Thank you very much
- すみません sumimasen Sorry / excuse me
- ごめんなさい gomen nasai I'm sorry
- 失礼しました shitsurei shimashita Sorry for the trouble
- いいえ iie No / not at all
Asking for Help
- 助けてください tasukete kudasai Please help me
- 英語を話せますか？ eigo o hanasemasu ka? Can you speak English?
- もう一度言ってください mou ichido itte kudasai Please say that again
- ゆっくり話してください yukkuri hanashite kudasai Please speak more slowly
- トイレはどこですか？ toire wa doko desu ka? Where is the toilet?
- 駅はどこですか？ eki wa doko desu ka? Where is the station?
- これはいくらですか？ kore wa ikura desu ka? How much is this?
At a Restaurant
- これをください kore o kudasai This one, please
- 水をください mizu o kudasai Water, please
- お会計お願いします okaikei onegai shimasu The bill, please
- おすすめは何ですか？ osusume wa nan desu ka? What do you recommend?
- 美味しい oishii Delicious
- いただきます itadakimasu Said before eating
- ごちそうさまでした gochisousama deshita Said after eating
Feelings and Understanding
- 疲れました tsukaremashita I'm tired
- 嬉しいです ureshii desu I'm happy
- 面白いですね omoshiroi desu ne That's interesting
- 分かりました wakarimashita I understand
- 分かりません wakarimasen I don't understand
- 知りません shirimasen I don't know