Survival Japanese for Tokyo

Why bother

English on signs is universal in Tokyo and English conversation is not. Most interactions run on pointing, nodding and the register display, and nobody expects fluency. Twenty-five phrases cover the gaps, and the effort is noticed and returned with patience. Pronunciation is forgiving: every syllable gets equal weight, vowels are short and clean, and a macron (ō, ū) just means hold the vowel longer.

The 25 phrases

English	Romaji	Japanese
Hello	Konnichiwa	こんにちは
Good morning	Ohayō gozaimasu	おはようございます
Good evening	Konbanwa	こんばんは
Thank you	Arigatō gozaimasu	ありがとうございます
Excuse me / sorry	Sumimasen	すみません
Yes / No	Hai / Iie	はい / いいえ
Please (when asking)	Onegaishimasu	お願いします
I don’t understand	Wakarimasen	わかりません
Do you speak English?	Eigo o hanasemasu ka?	英語を話せますか？
Goodbye	Sayōnara	さようなら
How much is it?	Ikura desu ka?	いくらですか？
This one, please	Kore o kudasai	これをください
The bill, please	Okaikei onegaishimasu	お会計お願いします
Can I pay by card?	Kādo de haraemasu ka?	カードで払えますか？
Table for two	Futari desu	二人です
What do you recommend?	Osusume wa nan desu ka?	おすすめは何ですか？
I am allergic to …	… arerugī ga arimasu	…アレルギーがあります
No meat or fish, please	Niku to sakana nashi de onegaishimasu	肉と魚なしでお願いします
It was delicious	Oishikatta desu	おいしかったです
Cheers	Kanpai	乾杯
Where is …?	… wa doko desu ka?	…はどこですか？
Toilet	Toire	トイレ
Does this train go to …?	Kono densha wa … ni ikimasu ka?	この電車は…に行きますか？
I want to go here (show the map)	Koko ni ikitai desu	ここに行きたいです
Help!	Tasukete!	助けて！

Sumimasen is the one to master: it opens a conversation, apologizes for bumping, and calls a waiter from across the room. Follow any request with onegaishimasu and you cannot be impolite.

Numbers and counters

One to ten: ichi, ni, san, yon, go, roku, nana, hachi, kyū, jū. Then stack them: 11 is jū-ichi, 20 is ni-jū, 35 is san-jū-go. 100 is hyaku, 1,000 is sen, 10,000 is man, so ¥1,500 is sen go-hyaku en and ¥20,000 is ni-man en. Prices show on the register anyway, so numbers matter most for ordering.

Japanese counts objects with counters, and two are enough for a restaurant. For people at the door: hitori (one), futari (two), san-nin (three), yo-nin (four). For dishes and most things on a menu: hitotsu (one), futatsu (two), mittsu (three), yottsu (four). “Bīru futatsu” gets you two beers; “Kore o hitotsu” gets you one of whatever you are pointing at. Fingers held up work too, and nobody minds.

Reading the signs

A few kanji repay memorizing because they appear on every door and platform. 入口 (iriguchi) is entrance and 出口 (deguchi) is exit; 東口, 西口, 南口 and 北口 are the east, west, south and north station exits, which matter at a place like Shinjuku. 改札 is the ticket gate. On trains, 各停 or 各駅停車 is a local stopping everywhere, 快速 is rapid, 急行 is express and 特急 is limited express; the faster the train, the more stations it skips, so check that yours stops where you are going.

On doors: 押 push, 引 pull, 営業中 open, 準備中 closed or preparing, 定休日 regular closing day. 男 is men and 女 is women; the pictograms are usually there too, but not always. 禁煙 is no smoking, 無料 is free, and 円 is yen. 注意 is caution and 立入禁止 means keep out.

Google Translate’s camera mode handles the rest of a menu well enough, and Google Maps already romanizes station names. Download the Japanese language pack before you fly.