Page 346 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

PHRASE BOOK Call the police! 警察を Keisatsu o

yonde kudasai!
Fire! 呼んでください！ Kaji!
火事！
The Japanese language is related to Okinawan and is similar Where is the 病院はどこに Byoin wa doko ni
to Altaic languages such as Mongolian and Turkish. Written hospital? ありますか? arimasu ka?
Japanese uses a combination of three scripts: Chinese police box 交 番 koban
ideograms, known as kanji, and two syllable-based alphabet COMMUNICATION ESSENTIALS
sys tems known as hiragana and katakana. These two latter
are similar, katakana functioning as italics are used in Yes/no. はい／いいえ Hai/iie.
English. Traditionally, Japanese is written in vertical columns … not … ･･･ない／･･･ません … nai/ ... masen
I don’t know.
Shirimasen.
from top right to bottom left, though the Western system is Thank you. 知りません。 Arigato.
increasingly used. There are several romanization systems; Thank you very ありがとう。 Arigato
ありがとう
a simplified version of the Hepburn system is used as the much. ございます。 gozaimasu.
base for this guide. To simplify romanization, macrons Thank you very どうもありがとう Domo arigato
(long marks over vowels to indicate longer pronunci ation) much indeed. ございます。 gozaimasu.
have not been used. Japanese pronunciation is fairly Thanks (casual). どうも。 Domo.
No, thank you.
Kekko desu.
straightforward, and many words are “Japanized” Please 結構です。 Dozo.
versions of Western words. This Phrase Book gives (offering). どうぞ。
the English word or phrase, followed by the Japanese Please (asking). お願いします。 Onegai shimasu.
script, then the romanization. Please (give me ･･･ください。 … kudasai.
or do for me).
I don’t わかりません。 Wakarimasen.
GUIDELINES FOR PRONUNCIATION understand. Eigo o
Do you speak
When reading the romanization, give the same emphasis English? 英語を hanesemasu ka?
話せますか？
to all syllables. The practice in English of giving one I can’t speak 日本語は Nihongo wa
syllable greater stress may render a Japanese word Japanese. 話せません。 hanasemasen.
incomprehensible. Please speak もう少しゆっくり Mo sukoshi yukkuri
more slowly.
hanashite kudasai.
Sorry/Excuse me! 話してください。 Sumimasen!
すみません。
Pronounce vowels as in these English words: Could you help. ちょっと手伝って Chotto tetsudatte
a as the “u” in “cup” me please? いただけませんか？ itadakemasen ka?
e as in “red” (not emergency)
i as in “chief” USEFUL PHRASES
o as in “solid”
u as the “oo” in “cuckoo” My name is …. 私の Watashi no
名前は･･･です。 namae wa …desu.
How do you do, Hajimemashite,
When two vowels are used together, give each letter pleased to meet はじめまして、 dozo yoroshiku.
an individual sound: you. どうぞよろしく。

ai as in “pine” How are you? お元気ですか？ Ogenki desu ka?
ae as if written “ah-eh” Good morning. おはようございます。 Ohayo gozaimasu.
ei as in “pay” Hello/good こんにちは。 Konnichiwa.
afternoon.
Good evening. Konbanwa.
Consonants are pronounced as in English. The letter g is Good night. こんばんは。 Oyasumi nasai.
always hard as in “gate,” and j is always soft as in “joke.” R Good-bye. おやすみなさい。 Sayonara.
さよなら。
is pronounced something between r and l. Similarly, f is Take care. 気をつけて。 Ki o tsukete.
pronounced somewhere between f and h. Whereas “Si” Keep well お元気で。 Ogenki de.
always becomes “shi,” and V in Western words (e.g., “video”) (casual).
becomes b. If followed by the consonants b, p, or m, n The same to you. そちらも。 Sochira mo.
(Kore wa) nan
What is (this)?
usually becomes m, although there are some exceptions （これは）何 desu ka?
ですか？
to this rule. How do you use これをどうやって Kore o doyatte
All consonants except n are always either followed by this? 使いますか？ tsukaimasu ka?
a vowel or doubled; however, sometimes an i or u is barely Could I possibly ･･･をいただけますか？ … o itadakemasu ka?
pronounced. have …? (very
polite)
DIALECTS Is there … here? ここに･･･が Koko ni … ga
arimasu ka?

Standard Japanese is used and understood throughout Where can I ありますか？ … wa doko ni
･･･はどこに
Japan by people of all backgrounds. But on a colloquial level, get …? ありますか？ arimasu ka?
there are significant differences in both pronunciation and How much is it? いくらですか？ Ikura desu ka?
vocabulary, even between the Tokyo and Osaka-Kyoto What time is …? ･･･何時ですか？ … nanji desu ka?
Cheers! (toast)
Kampai!
areas, and rural accents are very strong. Where is the 乾杯！
お手洗い／おトイレは Otearai/otoire wa
POLITE WORDS AND PHRASES restroom/toilet? どこですか？ doko desu ka?
Here’s my 名刺をどうぞ。 Meishi o dozo.
There are several different levels of politeness in the business card.
Japanese language, according to status, age, and situation.
In everyday conversation, polite ness levels are simply a USEFUL WORDS
question of the length of verb endings (the longer masu I 私 watashi
ending is, as a rule, more polite), but in formal conversation woman 女性 josei
you will notice that entirely different words and phrases man 男性 dansei
okusan
wife
(keigo) are used. As a visitor, you may find that people try husband 奥さん shujin
to speak to you in formal language, but there is no need daughter 主人 musume
娘
to use it yourself; the level given in this Phrase Book is son 息子 musuko
neutral yet polite. child 子供 kodomo
children 子供たち kodomotachi
IN AN EMERGENCY businessman/ ビジネスマン／ bijinessuman/
woman wuman
Help! 助けて！ Tasukete! student ウーマン gakusei
Stop! 止めて！ Tomete! Mr./Mrs./Ms. … 学生 …-san
Call a doctor! 医者を Isha o big/small ･･･さん okii/chiisai
呼んでください！ yonde kudasai! hot/cold 大きい／小さい atsui/samui
Call an 救急車を Kyukyusha o cold (to touch) 暑い／寒い tsumetai
ambulance! 呼んでください！ yonde kudasai! warm 冷たい atatakai
温かい
346
346-350_EW_Japan.indd 346 19/02/2019 12:41
EW Phrasebook template v1 – 29th August 2018
Fonts: Posterama Text, Soho Gothic Pro