30 Common Japanese Phrases for Beginners and Travelers
By Miracle Team ·
You don’t need fluent Japanese to make a great impression in Japan — you need a handful of polite, high-frequency phrases. Politeness is at the heart of Japanese culture, and even a simple sumimasen or arigatō gozaimasu changes how people respond to you. Here are 30 essential phrases grouped by situation, each with the Japanese script, romaji, a rough pronunciation, and the meaning. (Vowels sound like Spanish: a=ah, i=ee, u=oo, e=eh, o=oh.)
Greetings & politeness
- こんにちは — Konnichiwa (kon-nee-chee-wah) — Hello / Good afternoon
- おはようございます — Ohayō gozaimasu (oh-hah-yoh go-zah-ee-mahs) — Good morning
- こんばんは — Konbanwa (kon-bahn-wah) — Good evening
- さようなら — Sayōnara (sah-yoh-nah-rah) — Goodbye
- ありがとうございます — Arigatō gozaimasu (ah-ree-gah-toh) — Thank you very much
- すみません — Sumimasen (soo-mee-mah-sen) — Excuse me / Sorry
- お願いします — Onegai shimasu (oh-neh-gah-ee shee-mahs) — Please
- はい / いいえ — Hai / Iie (hah-ee / ee-eh) — Yes / No
Introducing yourself
- はじめまして — Hajimemashite (hah-jee-meh-mah-shteh) — Nice to meet you
- 私の名前は…です — Watashi no namae wa … desu (wah-tah-shee no nah-mah-eh wah … dess) — My name is …
- よろしくお願いします — Yoroshiku onegai shimasu (yoh-roh-shkoo) — Pleased to meet you
- …から来ました — … kara kimashita (kah-rah kee-mah-shtah) — I’m from …
When you don’t understand
- わかりません — Wakarimasen (wah-kah-ree-mah-sen) — I don’t understand
- もう一度お願いします — Mō ichido onegai shimasu (moh ee-chee-do) — Once more, please
- ゆっくりお願いします — Yukkuri onegai shimasu (yoo-koo-ree) — Slowly, please
- 英語を話せますか — Eigo o hanasemasu ka (ay-go oh hah-nah-seh-mahs kah) — Do you speak English?
At a restaurant or shop
- これをください — Kore o kudasai (koh-reh oh koo-dah-sah-ee) — This one, please
- いくらですか — Ikura desu ka (ee-koo-rah dess kah) — How much is it?
- おいしい — Oishii (oh-ee-shee) — Delicious
- ごちそうさまでした — Gochisōsama deshita (go-chee-soh-sah-mah desh-tah) — Thank you for the meal
- 乾杯 — Kanpai (kahn-pah-ee) — Cheers!
Getting around
- …はどこですか — … wa doko desu ka (wah doh-koh dess kah) — Where is …?
- トイレはどこですか — Toire wa doko desu ka (toh-ee-reh) — Where is the toilet?
- 駅 — Eki (eh-kee) — Station
- 右 / 左 / まっすぐ — Migi / Hidari / Massugu (mee-gee / hee-dah-ree / mahs-soo-goo) — Right / Left / Straight
- 助けて — Tasukete (tah-soo-keh-teh) — Help!
A quick pronunciation note
Japanese is kind to English speakers: five clean vowels, no tones, and an even rhythm where each syllable gets roughly equal time. Don’t hit syllables hard the way English does — keep them flat and steady. The long mark (ō, ū) just means “hold that vowel a beat longer,” which can change meaning, so it’s worth copying from native audio.
Take the phrases further with audio
A rough pronunciation gets you started, but to sound natural you need to hear each phrase from a native speaker and repeat it. Japanese For Kids & Beginners teaches everyday words and phrases with native audio and a slow-playback mode, plus the kana behind them, so you move from pointing to actually speaking. New to the script? Start with the Japanese writing system explained, or get the full roadmap in how to learn Japanese for beginners.
Download Japanese For Kids & Beginners free on Google Play and arrive in Japan with your first phrases ready.