Q&A

Question: I often watch anime online and there is one word that characters often say in the anime that really makes me curious. What do they mean when they say “Nani??” especially when the characters are agitated?

Question: I was chatting with my Japanese friend online when she said she has already had her lunch. It was not time for lunch yet in my country, so I was surprised to hear that. I wanted to ask, “What time is it?” in Japanese. How do I say it?

Question: My wife 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 all of us need to stay home and self-isolate for 14 days to see if we develop symptoms as well. My son goes to a Japanese elementary school. How do I tell his teacher that he is “on self-isolation” and cannot go to school in Japanese?

Question: I’m working part-time at a supermarket. We usually have many customers crowding around the cooked food section during lunch and dinner time. Now with the COVID-19 situation, crowding is strongly discouraged. My supervisor wants me to make an announcement in Japanese to advise customers to maintain safe social distancing. All my other colleagues were busy, and I couldn’t really ask them. How do I say “Please maintain social distancing” in Japanese?

Question: My city is under a lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic and there is no sign of reopening soon. Travel is restricted and those who can work from home are strongly encouraged to do so. I have already been working from home for several weeks now. Most of my friends in Japan still need to go to the office every day. I want to write a message in Japanese to tell them that I work from home. How should I say it?

Question: I’m working part-time at a supermarket. We usually have many customers crowding around the cooked food section during lunch and dinner time. Now with the COVID-19 situation, crowding is strongly discouraged. My supervisor wants me to make an announcement in Japanese to advise customers to keep at least 2m apart from one another. How do I say this in Japanese?

Question: My city is under lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic and there is no sign of reopening soon. Travel is restricted and I miss my Japanese friends. I’m arranging a Zoom meeting online to catch up with them. I want to ask how things are going recently for them in Japanese. Please help!

Question: My wife 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 all of us need to report to the authorities that we are in close contact with an infected person and we need to see if we develop symptoms as well. How do I say “I’m a close contact” in Japanese?

Question: I have been working from home ever since my city announced a lockdown to restrict movements to curb the spread of the coronavirus. So I was pleasantly surprised when I received a message from my Japanese friend asking how I was coping with things. I want to reply in Japanese “Thank you for your concern”. How should I say it?

Question: I was dispatched last year from U.K. to the Japanese branch of my company as its President. I suddenly have many Japanese subordinates. We speak English in the company and we normally use English for work as well. However, I want to speak some Japanese to my staff, especially words of thanks. I want to say “Thank you for your hard work” to them when they come to my office for regular reports. How should I say it?