Japanese Sayings
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by Oraizan
Whoa! It is officially Empress Day!
To kick-start the holiday, I have a little bit of my own article for you to read! There will be more to follow, so start practicing!
Japanese Phrases
Some of these you may know, others maybe not. Personally I think the best way to get to know a language, is to know and be able to recognize common phrases. Here is my list of common phrases; feel free to add some more on the comments below:
Hello.
こんにちは。 Konnichiwa. (kon-nee-chee-WAH)
Good morning.
おはようございます。 Ohayō gozaimasu. (oh-hah-YOH go-zigh-moss)
Good evening.
こんばんは。 Konbanwa. (kohm-bahn-wah)
Good night (to sleep)
おやすみなさい。 Oyasuminasai. (oh-yah-soo-mee-nah-sigh)
How are you?
お元気ですか。 O-genki desu ka? (oh-GEN-kee dess-KAH?)
Fine, thank you.
元気です。 Genki desu. (GEN-kee dess)
What is your name?
お名前は何ですか。 O-namae wa nan desu ka? (oh-NAH-mah-eh wah NAHN dess-KAH?)
My name is ____ .
私の名前は ____ です。 Watashi no namae wa ____ desu. (wah-TAH-shee no nah-mah-eh wa ____ dess)
Nice to meet you.
始めまして。 Hajimemashite. (hah-jee-meh-MOSH-teh)
Please. (request)
お願いします。 Onegai shimasu. (oh-neh-gigh shee-moss)
Please. (offer)
どうぞ。 Dōzo. (DOH-zo)
Thank you.
どうもありがとう。 Dōmo arigatō. (doh-moh ah-ree-GAH-toh)
You're welcome.
どういたしまして。 Dō itashi mashite. (doh EE-tah-shee mosh-teh)
Yes.
はい。 Hai. (HIGH)
No.
いいえ。 Iie. (EE-eh)
Excuse me.
すみません。 Sumimasen. (soo-mee-mah-sen)
I'm sorry.
御免なさい。 Gomen-nasai. (goh-men-nah-sigh)
Those are some common phrases, now here are some help-ful to know as a tourist:
can't speak Japanese [well].
日本語「よく」話せません。 Nihongo [yoku] hanasemasen. (nee-hohn-goh [yo-koo] hah-nah-seh-mah-sen)
Do you speak English?
英語を話せますか。 Eigo o hanasemasuka? (AY-goh oh hah-nah-seh-moss-KAH?)
Is there someone here who speaks English?
だれか英語を話せますか。 Dareka eigo o hanasemasuka? (dah-reh-kah AY-goh oh hah-nah-seh-moss-KAH?)
Help!
たすけて! Tasukete! (tah-soo-keh-teh!)
Look out!
あぶない! Abunai! (ah-boo-NIGH!)
I don't understand.
わかりません。 Wakarimasen. (wah-kah-ree-mah-sen)
Where is the toilet?
トイレはどこですか。 Toire wa doko desu ka? (toy-reh wah DOH-koh dess kah?)
There is more to come through-out the holiday! Next Article-
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Comments
Dragosñax!!
Voted!! Hope to learn something xD
I'll not memorize them all, but I feel like I'm getting a better handle on the language. Need to work on my memorization, I think.
Pronunciation is pretty straightforward, though I still mess up some forms of ん and some of the 'silent vowels'.
Voted. :3 Some people mess up on Desu as well, and pronounce it deh - soo instead of just dess.
Is Oyasumi just a less formal version of Oyasuminasai, or is it something different all together?
Nice article. I will probably never get to use these but some of my friends are learning Japanese so maybe I could surprise them. 🙂 I've had enough of "desu" though, it seems to be some kind of inside joke of theirs(or people watching anime and speaking japanese). "moar desu"
@Inferno- n is the same as saying the letter in english, but with your mouth closed.
@Iyami- Oyasumi-nasai is the polite way to say good-night. You can add '-nasai' to some things to make it polite. EG; Gomen-nasai, oyasumi-nasai, etc.
@Kuhaa- For 'desu' is a joke. There are people who just add desu to everything, which is annoying but apparently a good joke. Some people call them 'desu girls'. I hope you can surprise them!
@Squirrel- thanks! there will be more to come!
Ah, I see! Thank you.
A bit late, so I don't know if anyone reads these comments later, but...
The link below goes to a page full of 四字熟語 (YOJI-JUKUGO), or the four character phrases that convey meaning, often more profound than an equivalent sentence in a particular context:
http://home.earthlink.net/~4jword/index3.htm" target="_blank">http://home.earthlink.net/~4jword/index3[..].htm
My favorite is: 落日孤城 or "setting sun, isolated castle." This phrase just conveys "impending doom," but does so in a way that evokes the old samurai battles of days past--the sun sets on a castle that is isolated from reinforcements, so it will fall soon.
The Chinese language makes use of these as well, and a lot of Asian movies get their staccato titles ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") from translating these phrases. You don't really need to be an advanced, fluent, or native Japanese speaker to appreciate them.
I like.