Q&A

Answer by Japanese teacher Explanation “What’s up?” is a casual greeting commonly used by young people or guys in America. There is no specific expression for “what’s up” in Japanese. However, as this is originally a casual greeting, the Japanese […]

Answer by Japanese teacher Explanation The number “one” is “いち ichi” in Japanese but there are many ways of saying “one” in Japanese, depending on the object that you are attaching the number to. In this case, if you want […]

Answer by Japanese teacher Explanation (1) うまい umai delicious This is a relatively casual expression commonly used by males and preferably among friends. If you are attending a dinner with your superior and you wanted to tell him/her that the […]

Answer by Japanese teacher Explanation There are various ways of saying “I see” in Japanese depending on the situation and your relationship with the listener. The basic expression is soo desu ka and it should be said with a falling […]

Answer by Japanese teacher

Answer by Japanese teacher Explanation “Yoi ichi nichi o” is the short form of “良(よ)い一日(いちにち)をお過(す)ごしください yoi ichi nichi o osugoshi kudasai” and is more often used in writing. Actually the Japanese do not say this phrase often. “Have a good […]

Answer by Japanese teacher Explanation In the first expression, the word 話(はな)せます hanasemasu comes from “話(はな)す hanasu” (to speak). In the second expression, わかります wakarimasu means “to understand”. Both expressions can be used to mean “do you speak English”. It […]

Answer by Japanese teacher Explanation When you are calling out to a waiter in a restaurant to mean “excuse me”, you can use sumimasen. Sumimasen also means “sorry” and “thank you” (when you have troubled someone for his help). In […]

Answer by Japanese teacher Explanation Konnichiwa is often used as a greeting to mean “good afternoon”. It was actually once part of a greeting sentence (today is…) but has evolved to its shortened form now to simply say hello. Ogenki […]

Answer by Japanese teacher Explanation The word dooitashimashite means you’re welcome. This is a formal expression. You can say it with or without iie in front. iie literally means “no” but in this case, it means “no, it’s nothing”. If […]