Learn common Japanese phrases you would likely use at work
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Peter: Learn the Proper Way to Do Business in Japan. In the previous lesson, you learned how to say where something is. Such as |
| Naomi: ロビーにトイレがあります。 |
| Peter: In the lobby, there are restrooms. There are restrooms in the lobby. And we also learned the usage of "to understand" Such as |
| Naomi: わかりますか？ Do you understand? |
| Peter: In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask how something is. |
| Naomi: How to ask how something is? |
| Peter: Yeah, you know "how's work?", "How's school?" "How's Japan?" |
| Naomi: はい。わかりました。I see. We'll also learn useful phrases to use in business situations, correct? |
| Peter: Right. This conversation takes place at |
| Naomi: ネッサン自動車 |
| Peter: Nessan Automobile co., ltd. Now if you remember from the previous episodes, Ashley is a manager at Nessan Automobile. In the last episode, she was taking a taxi to the headquarters of Nessan. She has arrived and now she is talking to the receptionist at the main entrance. So first, you'll hear the conversation between, |
| Naomi: アシュリーと受付 Ashley and the receptionist. |
| Peter: And then in the last part of the conversation, Ashley will be talking to |
| Naomi: 松田部長 the manager, Matsuda. |
| Peter: They'll be using |
| Naomi: Formal Japanese. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 受付:おはようございます。 |
| アシュリー:おはようございます。 |
| :９時に松田部長と約束があります。 |
| 受付:お客様のお名前は。 |
| アシュリー:ニューヨーク支社のアシュリーと申します。 |
| 受付:申し訳ございません。もう一度お名前おねがいします。 |
| アシュリー:アシュリーです。 |
| 受付:アシュリー・ジョーンズ様ですね。こちらです。どうぞ。 |
| (knock knock) |
| 部長:はい。 |
| 受付:失礼します。アシュリー・ジョーンズ様です。 |
| 松田部長:おー、アシュリーさん、久しぶり。 |
| アシュリー:お久しぶりです。松田部長。 |
| :お元気ですか。 |
| 松田部長:元気ですよ。アシュリーさんは？ |
| アシュリー:はい、おかげさまで、元気です。 |
| :あ、これ、どうぞ。お土産です。 |
| 松田部長:あー、すみませんね。ありがとう。 |
| :で、日本はどうですか。 |
| 受付:おはようございます。 |
| Peter: Good morning. |
| アシュリー:おはようございます。 |
| Peter: Good morning. |
| :９時に松田部長と約束があります。 |
| Peter: I have an appointment with Mr. Matsuda at nine. |
| 受付:お客様のお名前は。 |
| Peter: May I have your name? |
| アシュリー:ニューヨーク支社のアシュリーと申します。 |
| Peter: I'm Ashley from the New York office. |
| 受付:申し訳ございません。もう一度お名前おねがいします。 |
| Peter: I'm sorry; can I have your name again? |
| アシュリー:アシュリーです。 |
| Peter: Ashley. |
| 受付:アシュリー・ジョーンズ様ですね。こちらです。どうぞ。 |
| Peter: Ms. Ashley Jones, yes? This way, please. |
| (knock knock) |
| Peter(knock knock) |
| 部長:はい。 |
| Peter: Yes? |
| 受付:失礼します。アシュリー・ジョーンズ様です。 |
| Peter: I'm sorry to interrupt. Ashley is here. |
| 松田部長:おー、アシュリーさん、久しぶり。 |
| Peter: Oh, Ashley! Long time no see! |
| アシュリー:お久しぶりです。松田部長。 |
| Peter: Long time no see, Mr. Matsuda. |
| :お元気ですか。 |
| Peter: How are you? |
| 松田部長:元気ですよ。アシュリーさんは？ |
| Peter: I'm great! And you? |
| アシュリー:はい、おかげさまで、元気です。 |
| Peter: I'm great, thank you. |
| :あ、これ、どうぞ。お土産です。 |
| Peter: Oh, and this is for you. It's a gift. |
| 松田部長:あー、すみませんね。ありがとう。 |
| Peter: Ohh, thank you! |
| :で、日本はどうですか。 |
| Peter: So, how's Japan? |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Peter: Is it common to bring gifts when you visit a company? |
| Naomi: I'm not sure. I would say it depends on the company, the person and of course the relationship. In this conversation, it seems like Ashley knows Mr. Matsuda very well and they have a good relationship. So... that's the reason Ashley brought お土産 |
| Peter: O-mi-ya-ge. Can you say it one more time? |
| Naomi: お土産. |
| Peter: When you visit someone's house do you always bring "Omiyage" gift? |
| Naomi: はい yes. |
| Peter: So if someone is planning to do a homestay in Japan, would you recommend that the person bring omiyage gift ? |
| Naomi: そうですね。It doesn't have to be expensive. But if the お土産 is from your home country, then you can have something to talk about. I think it's a nice gesture. |
| Peter: Like a conversation starter. And when do you give the Omiyage gift? |
| Naomi: I usually give it right after I enter the house. I said souvenir is おみやげ but some people just say みやげ |
| Peter: Ah... without the polite prefix "o". |
| Naomi: Right. So お土産 is more polite than 土産. |
| Peter: Speaking of the polite prefix "o", I noticed Mr. Matsuda is using formal Japanese but slightly less formal than Ashley. |
| Naomi: Right Look at the phrase 久しぶり"Long time to see." |
| Peter: Mr. Matsuda said "Hisashiburi" but Ashley put polite prefix "O" in front and said |
| Naomi: おひさしぶり |
| Peter: "Long time no see " |
| Naomi: Also look at the word 元気 |
| Peter: Ashley put "o" but Mr. Matsuda didn't put "o." See that? From this information, you can assume that Mr.Matsuda has higher social status than Ashley. |
| Naomi: そうですね。Mr. Matsuda Also said "ありがとう”, which is not even formal Japanese. |
| Peter: The person who is in a higher social position can choose whatever level of formality they like but the person who is in a lower social position has to use formal speech. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Peter Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| Naomi 約束 [natural native speed] |
| Peter promise |
| Naomi 約束 [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi 約束 [natural native speed] |
| Naomi 部長 [natural native speed] |
| Peter department head, section chief |
| Naomi 部長 [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi 部長 [natural native speed] |
| Naomi 元気 [natural native speed] |
| Peter good, fine |
| Naomi 元気 [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi 元気 [natural native speed] |
| Naomi 支社 [natural native speed] |
| Peter branch office |
| Naomi 支社 [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi 支社 [natural native speed] |
| Naomi おかげ様で。 [natural native speed] |
| Peter Thanks to you. Thanks for asking. |
| Naomi おかげ様で。 [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi おかげ様で。 [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Peter Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Peter: Let's check some useful words or phrases for the work environment. What's the first word? |
| Naomi: 約束 |
| Peter: promise, appointment |
| Naomi: I don't think 約束 is always an appointment though. 約束 sounds very private. |
| If there is money involved, 約束becomes 予約. |
| Peter: As you learned in lesson10 "yoyaku" means "reservation." If you're talking about a reservation at a hotel or a restaurant, that's |
| Naomi: 予約 But you can use 予約 for doctor's appointments too. |
| Peter: Hence, if you have to pay money for the time or space that's "yoyaku". If not - "yakusoku" In the dialogue, Ashley said... |
| Naomi: 約束があります. |
| Peter: I have an appointment. If you want to specify who you have an appointment with, say the person's name and add "to", which means "and or with" |
| Naomi: ピーターさんと約束があります。 |
| Peter: With Peter, I have an appointment. I have an appointment with Peter. |
| Naomi: 松田さんと約束があります。 |
| Peter: With Mr. or Ms. Matsuda, I have an appointment.OK. That's the next phrase? |
| Naomi: 申し訳ございません。 |
| Peter: "I'm very sorry." It's a very formal way to apologize. |
| Now, sumimasen, meaning "I'm sorry" is usually good enough, however if you're speaking to your boss or client and make a serious mistake, you really should use |
| Naomi: 申し訳ございません |
| Peter: It's a long sentence isn't it. Let's break down. The first part is |
| Naomi: もーしわけ |
| Peter: Now what does this part mean? |
| Naomi: Well... もうしわけ means "excuse" |
| Peter: And the following part is |
| Naomi: ございません |
| Peter: It means "there isn't" So moushiwake gozaimasen literally means "There's no excuse", "There's nothing I can say." |
| Naomi: Right. Because I feel so guilty, or maybe "I can't even think of any excuse." |
| Peter: So it means "I'm deeply sorry","we're deeply sorry" "Please accept my apologies." Can we hear the whole phrase again? |
| Naomi: もーしわけございません |
| Peter: I'm very sorry. OK what's the next phrase? |
| Naomi: 失礼します。 |
| Peter: "Please excuse me."/ "I'm sorry to interrupt." |
| This phrase is often said when entering or leaving a room. This phrase has two word, correct? |
| Naomi: そうです correct. 失礼 |
| Peter: "to be rude" "discourtesy" |
| Naomi: and します |
| Peter: "to do" So literally, "I do discourtesy" "I'll be rude" "I'll be bothering you" |
| Naomi: So... "Sorry in advance" |
| Peter: The closest translation would be "Excuse me." Can we hear the phrase again? |
| Naomi: 失礼します |
| Peter: Now, "sumimasen" is also "Excuse me" so...can we say "sumimasen" and "shitsureishimasu" are interchangeable? |
| Naomi: Yeah. Pretty much. |
| Peter: What do you have next? |
| Naomi: ともうします as in アシュリーと申します |
| Peter: I'm Ashley. "[name]＋to moushimasu" is a very formal way to introduce yourself. |
| Now if it's a regular formal situation, Ashley might say |
| Naomi: アシュリーです。 |
| Peter: But since it's a very formal situation, she put "to moushimasu" instead of "desu" |
| Naomi: アシュリーと申します。 |
| Peter: "to" is called a "quotation particle" and "moushimasu" means "to say" or "to be called" but it's a very humble expression, so it literally means "I'm called such and such" |
| Naomi: So the pattern is [ Name ] plus と申します。 |
| Peter: So in my case, "Peter Galante to moushimasu." Of course you can put the company name and say "Japanesepod101.com no Peter Galante to moushimasu." |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Peter: In this grammar section, you'll two things. One. How to greet someone that you have not seen for a long time. |
| Naomi: Basically how to day "It's been a long time" in Japanese. |
| Peter: Two.How to ask how something is. |
| Naomi: Like "How's school?""How's work?" and so on. |
| Peter: OK. Let's start with "It's been a long time." How do you say that phrase in Japanese? |
| Naomi: To a friend, I say 久しぶり |
| Peter: Break it down by syllable? |
| Naomi: ひ・さ・し・ぶ・り |
| Peter: At natural speed? |
| Naomi: ひさしぶり |
| Peter: You can use this for any situation correct? |
| Naomi: Sure. Like you haven't eaten chocolate for a long time and you eat it.... then you can say...[あーひさしぶり！」 |
| Peter: Now "Hisashiburi" is an informal expression. If you want to be more polite, you have to add |
| Naomi: です at the end. ひさしぶりです。 |
| Peter: Or as we mentioned previously you can put the polite suffix in front and say |
| Naomi: お久しぶりです。 |
| Peter: Can we hear all the phrase? "It's been a long time" in casual situation, |
| Naomi: 久しぶり |
| Peter: Now if you want to be polite: |
| Naomi: 久しぶりです |
| Peter: And you can even go one step further with the polite prefix and say: |
| Naomi: お久しぶりです |
| Peter: OK. On to the second grammar point. |
| Naomi: question word どう |
| Peter: "How" In the dialogue, Mr. Matsuda asked Ashley about Japan |
| Naomi: 日本はどうですか。 |
| Peter: How's Japan? Let's break down this sentence. |
| Naomi&Peter: 日本は Japan and topic marking particle "wa" so... "As for Japan," どう "how" です"copula"is かquestion. So "As for Japan, how is?" Of course "How is Japan?" |
| Naomi: So the pattern is [ Such and such ] は どう です か。 |
| Peter: How is [such and such] |
| Naomi: 東京はどうですか。 |
| Peter: How is Tokyo? |
| Naomi: ニューヨークはどうですか。 |
| Peter: How's NY? So by using this sentence pattern you can ask how someone is feeling toward a certain thing. OK. How do you say "Job" in Japanese? |
| Naomi: 仕事 |
| Peter: So...Naomi-sensei. Shigoto wa dou desu ka? |
| Naomi: え？。。。ああ、大丈夫ですよ。 |
| Peter: Only Daijoubu? Only OK? |
| Naomi: I was just kidding. とてもいいです。It's very good. |
| Peter: Let's recap this lesson with a quiz. The quiz will be multiple choice. We'll give a question and three possible answers. Your job is to guess the answer.OK. The first question. Which of the following phrases is the most formal way to say "It's been a long time?" |
| Naomi: A)ひさしぶり B)ひさしぶりです C)おひさしぶりです |
| Peter: The answer is |
| Naomi: C)お久しぶりです |
| Peter: Because it has polite prefix "O" and polite copula "desu" OK next. Question 2. Which of following phrase is the most formal way to say "I'm very sorry." |
| Naomi: A)申し訳ございません B)すみません C)失礼します |
| Peter: The answer is |
| Naomi: A)申し訳ございません |
| Peter: C)Shitsureishimasu means "Excuse me" |
| Naomi: そうです。 |
Outro |
| Peter: This concludes this lesson. In the next lesson, you'll learn more business related formal expressions so before you listen to the next lesson, be sure to review this lesson. |
| Naomi: では、失礼します。 |
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Comments
HideLet us know if you have any questions.
こんにちは Jasonさん！
Sorry for the confusion. The order of this commentary on Lesson Notes is as follows
・Thing
・wa (は)
・how
・copula
・question ka (か)
・Translation
The translation is written at the end, so I think you got confused with the other examples.
We will improve the format to make it easier for learners to learn. Thank you for your suggestions.
Keep up the good work, and don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions. Remember, practice makes perfect!
ありがとうございます！
Kazuya
Team JapanesePod101.com
"How's the hotel?"
学校
Gakko
は
wa
どう
dō
です
desu
か
ka
There's clearly a formatting issue here.