Q&A

Question: I teach English to Japanese children. My students are very bright and eager but there’s one child who gets nervous when she is asked to speak up in class. She can actually speak quite well in English but she often clams up in class. I want to tell her that she’s actually doing a good job but I don’t know any Japanese. How do I say that she has done a “good job” in Japanese?

Question: I joined a Japanese company a few months back but have only recently gone back to the office with the easing of the regulations. There are many colleagues that I have not met in person. My boss wanted everyone to do a short self-introduction at the start of the weekly meeting. I thought it would be good to do a self-introduction in Japanese but I don’t know any Japanese. How do I say “How do you do” in Japanese?

Question: I noticed that my Japanese colleague was not her usual cheerful self during our lunch break. She looked a bit tired and something seemed to be bothering her. I wanted to ask her what was wrong but I didn’t know how to say this in Japanese. How should I go about doing this?

Question: I’m a 25-year-old Australian on a working holiday in Japan. I got a job at a kids gym for Japanese children. I teach in English but sometimes I get children who don’t understand English at all. When they see a foreign instructor, they sometimes get nervous and cry and suddenly cannot do the things that they could previously do before. How do I say “You can do it!” in Japanese?

How to say "love” in Japanese?

I have made good friends with a few Japanese overseas students, and they always laughed at me saying Konnichiwa whenever we meet as they think it is too formal or classy. I want to know if there is a casual Japanese word for “Hey” or “Yo” that you can use when greeting a close friend. If possible, please teach me the male version of “Hey” or “Yo”.

Question: I have just joined a baking class and there is another Japanese student who has just joined as well. Since both of us are new, I thought I would greet her in Japanese. How do Japanese people say “Hi” or “Hello” when they see each other?

Question: My Japanese friend called me the other day. I thought I would try answering the call in Japanese, but I don’t know the word for “Hello”. Is there an equivalent for “Hello” in Japanese?

Question: I was on an exchange program to Japan and was staying with a host family. They were very nice, but their seven-year-old son was a handful. We were watching TV in the living room when the boy suddenly came over and started pulling my hair. I thought it was a one-off incident and was going to ignore it, but he continued pulling it harder. I was getting annoyed and wanted to say “Stop it” but I don’t know what’s the Japanese word for it.

Question: My son brought his Japanese girlfriend home for dinner. After dinner, they went out for a walk. I thought I would try to be friendly to the girlfriend by saying “welcome home” when they come back. How should I say this in Japanese?