“Can I Try This On?”
If you currently live in Japan, or ever plan to visit, you will probably want to do some clothes shopping.
Here’s a great phrase you can use when you want to try on clothes:
Ordering in Japanese
Welcome to learning Japanese online. Another lesson to get you going.
Today, in learning Japanese online, I’m going to give you a real life conversation!
That’s right, real life.
Today we’re back in a shop.
This time I’m going to relay a conversation that actually happens right here in Japan (ie. not a text book cleansed one).
The conversation happens in a donut shop, mmmmm, donuts 
.
The characters in this conversation are the tenin (shop assistant) and debiddo (me).
I will first give you the conversation in Japanese, then the translation and then we will work word by word.
Okay, let’s kick off:
tenin: irrashaimase.
debiddo: ohayo.
tenin: kochira de omeshi agari desu ka?
debiddo: kochira de. tenin: hai.debiddo: chokoreto hitotsu to, ichigo hitotsu to, apuru hitotsu.tenin: hai. nomimono ga ii desu ka?
debiddo: eeetto… aisu kohi to hotto remon tea kudasai.
tenin: hai. happyaku ni juu en de gozaimasu.
(David hands over 1000 Yen note)
tenin: hai, sen en desu.
(tenin gives change)
tenin: hai. hyaku hachi juu en desu. go-yukkuri douzo.
Okay, let’s translate it to English:
tenin: Welcome.
debiddo: Morning…
tenin: For here or to go?
debiddo: For here.
tenin: OK.
debiddo: I’ll have one chocolate, one strawberry and one apple donut.
tenin: OK. Would you like something to drink?
debiddo: Let’s see… I’ll have iced coffee and a hot lemon tea, thanks.
tenin: That’s 820 Yen.
(David hands over 1000 Yen note)
tenin: From 1000 Yen.
(tenin gives change)
tenin: Your change is 180 Yen. Take your time and enjoy.
How did you go?
Now let’s break down all the words.
irrashaimase Equates to “welcome” or “come in”.
ohayo Short version of “ohayo gozaimasu”. So translates to a casual “..morning…”
kochira de for here
omeshi agari Polite way of saying “to go” or “take away”
hai yes
chokoreto chocolate
ichigo strawberry
apuru apple
hitotsu general counter for 1 item
to and
nomimono ga ii desu ka This is a phrase that is not used literally. When asked this question, it means “Would you like something to drink?”
eeetto Umm…
aisu ice/iced
kohi coffee
hotto hot (the Japanese have there own words for hot, but use the English for hot when referring to drinks at a coffee shop)
remon lemon
kudasai please
happyaku ni juu 820
en Yen
de gozaimasu Polite way to say “desu”
sen 1000
hyaku hachi juu 180
go-yukkuri slowly (the “go” part is just an honorifi. “yukkuri” on it’s own also means slowly.
douzo please
Okay, how was that?
I hope you enjoyed and got something out of today’s learning Japanese online lesson.
I practice this almost every morning
If you’re in Japan, print this out and listen closely next time you go to a coffee shop (this is a perfect practice opportunity). If you’re not in Japan practice as much as possible and try to find a Japanese friend that will practice this one with you.
See you in the next learning Japanese online lesson.
Cheers,
David
Asking about prices in Japanese
Let’s learn how to speak Japanese!
Welcome to another lesson.
Today I have an interesting lesson for you.
Whether you go to Japan on holiday or to work, you will need to be able to ask for things in a shop.
Today’s learn how to speak Japanese lesson will take you through buying a camera in an electronics store in Japan.
After the lesson we will break down each sentence.
Are you ready?
Okay, here goes!
There are two characters in this lesson. They are tenin (the shop assistant) and sumisu (Mr Smith).
tenin: irrashaimase.
sumisu: sumimasen. sono kamera wa, nan no kamera desu ka?
tenin: kono kamera wa sooni desu.
sumisu: aa. ikura desu ka?
tenin: kyuu sen happyaku en desu.
sumisu: ee! chotto takai desu ne. ano kamera wa ikura desu ka?
tenin: go sen en desu.
sumisu: jaa.
How did you go?
Let’s break it down.
tenin: Welcome to my shop.
sumisu: Excuse me. What type of camera is that one by you?
tenin: This camera is a Sony.
sumisu: Oh. How much is it?
tenin: 9,800 Yen.
sumisu: Really! That’s a bit expensive. How much is that camera over there?
tenin: 5,000 Yen.
sumisu: OK, that one.
Now let’s break it down.
irrashaimase Equates to “welcome” or “come in”. Sometimes you hear “irrashaimase douzo” which is “come in please or “welcome, please”
sumimasen Excuse me
kono This one (near me)
sono That one (near you)
ano That one (near neither of us)
kamera Camera
wa Marks the topic of a sentence. For example “kamera wa” literally translates to “as for the camera”
nan/nani What
no Possessive marker. Loosely translates to the apostrophe or “of” in English
desu Polite form of “is”
ka Question marker
sooni Sony
aa Oh, as in “oh, really”
ikura Cost/Price
kyuu sen happyaku en 9,800 Yen. kyuu = 9, sen = 1000, happyaku = 800, en = Yen
ee Huh/What!
chotto A bit, a little
takai adjective: expensive/tall
ne English equivalent, “isn’t it”
go sen en 5,000 Yen. go = 5, sen = 1000
jaa in that case
Wow! That was a good one!
What you have to do now is revise this lesson.
Print out this learn how to speak Japanese lesson if you need to.
Once you understand the meanings of the dialog, get all the words together and load them into your flashcard program to help burn them into your mind.
Excellent.
Leave a comment for me if you have any questions or don’t understand something.
I hope you enjoyed this learn how to speak Japanese lesson.
There is more to come, and I can’t wait!
See you in the next lesson.
Cheers,
David
