Question
I’m a cabin attendant. Passengers are slowly taking flights again. I enjoy working on flights to Japan. As I have a lot of Japanese customers, I want to serve them in Japanese.
“Coffee or tea?”
“Chicken or fish?”
As in the above example, I want to be able to ask my passengers about their menu options in Japanese. Please tell me how to say “or” in Japanese.
Answer by Professional Japanese Teacher
「コーヒーにしますか、こうちゃにしますか」
Koohii ni shimasuka, koocha ni shimasuka.
Would you like to have coffee or tea?
「コーヒーとこうちゃがございますが、どちらになさいますか」
Koohii to koocha ga gozaimasuga, dochirani nasaimasuka?
We have coffee and tea, which one would you like?
「チキンにしますか、さかなにしますか」
Chikin ni shimasuka, sakana ni shimasuka?
Would you like to have chicken or fish?
「チキンとさかながございますが、どちらになさいますか」
Chikin to sakana ga gozaimasuga, dochirani nasaimasuka?
We have chicken and fish, which one would you like?
It’s a very long expression. If you check “or” in a dictionary, the word “か ka” or “それとも soretomo” would probably appear but because you are working in the service industry, it will sound very rude if you simply use what you found in a dictionary. The above phrases are a bit long, but I think you will use them quite often. Do practise and become fluent in it.
