Q&A

Question: I’m a Singaporean working at a Japanese company. 30 minutes before we knock off, my boss suddenly asked me to create a PowerPoint presentation for tomorrow. I had to work overtime in the office until 8pm to finish the work. My colleague Yamada-san came back from sales. He saw me working alone and he helped to correct my Japanese on the slides. Thanks to him, I was able to create a quality presentation. I wanted to say “Thank you for your help” in Japanese. How shall I say it?

Question: I developed flu-like symptoms a few days ago and was tested positive for COVID-19. Naturally, this put our whole family on panic mode as they need to stay home and self-isolate for 14 days to see if they develop symptoms as well. I feel fine otherwise and try to keep positive, but I feel apologetic to my family as well. As I can’t go to the office now, how do I tell my Japanese boss that “I’m infected with the coronavirus” in Japanese?

Question: I feel lonely as I must stay home all the time during this period of self-restraint caused by COVID-19. I have been sending messages to many people. I want to send a message “How is it going?” to a Japanese girl whom I used to go out with. How shall I say it in Japanese?

Question: I have judo classes in America. My sensei is a Japanese. Unfortunately, the class is closing because he is going back to Japan. We would like to write him a thank-you card. How should I say “Thank you for your guidance” in Japanese?

Usually in a Japanese conversation, you do not have to spell out the whole sentence if the context is very clear to the speaker and listener. In your example, it is clear that your team would fall behind in the schedule if the other team does not deliver on time.

Question: 
Whenever I happen to see my elderly Japanese neighbour while leaving home, she would ask me where I'm going (dochirae?). Why is she so concerned about my whereabouts? I don't know how to reply her so I usually just smiled. How do I reply her?