Learn how to order at a restaurant
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| Welcome to Can-Do Japanese by JapanesePod101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to order at a restaurant in Japanese. |
| For example, "Excuse me, water, please." is |
| すみません、みずを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mizu o onegai shimasu.) |
| Jun Sasaki, is at a restaurant with his wife. |
| He orders a water. |
| Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components. |
| みず (mizu) |
| "water" |
| みず |
| みず |
| かしこまりました (kashikomarimashita) |
| "understood" |
| かしこまりました |
| かしこまりました |
| Listen to the conversation, and focus on Jun's request. |
| Ready? |
| すみません、みずを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mizu o onegai shimasu.) |
| はい、かしこまりました。(Hai, kashikomarimashita.) |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| すみません、みずを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mizu o onegai shimasu.) |
| "Excuse me, water, please." |
| はい、かしこまりました。(Hai, kashikomarimashita.) |
| "Yes, understood." |
| Let's break down the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Jun asks for water? |
| "Excuse me, water, please." |
| すみません、みずを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mizu o onegai shimasu.) |
| First is すみません (sumimasen), meaning, "Excuse me," in this context. す-み-ま-せ-ん. すみません。 |
| Note: This expression can also be a mild apology and even a very polite thank you. It’s most fundamental, and perhaps most frequent use, though, is when you want to get someone’s attention. In this case, Jun wants to get the attention of the server. |
| After this is みず (mizu), "water." み-ず. みず。 |
| Note, おひや (ohiya), “water,” is another common word used to ask for water. おひや |
| Next is を (o), the object-marking particle. を。 |
| Think of を (o) as a marker for the thing receiving the action. In this sentence, it marks みず (mizu), "water," as the object of the request. |
| Last is the phrase, おねがいします (onegai shimasu), meaning "please." お-ね-が-い-し-ま-す. おねがいします。 |
| All together, it's すみません、みず を おねがいします (Sumimasen, mizu o onegai shimasu), or "Excuse me, water, please." |
| すみません、みずを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mizu o onegai shimasu.) |
| Let’s take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember the server’s response, |
| "Yes, understood." |
| はい、かしこまりました。(Hai, kashikomarimashita.) |
| First is はい (hai), "yes." はい. はい。 |
| Next is かしこまりました (kashikomarimashita), meaning "understood." かしこまりました. かしこまりました。 |
| かしこまりました (kashikomarimashita) is from the verb かしこまる (kashikomaru), meaning "to understand." かしこまる. |
| Note かしこまる (kashikomaru) is a form of humble speech. The standard neutral way to say “to understand” is わかる. |
| Note in Japanese places of business, including restaurants and convenience stores, complex Japanese phrases are commonly used to show respect to the customer. Even as a beginner, you should be aware of them, as you will hear these phrases in daily life. |
| Together, it's はい、かしこまりました (Hai, kashikomarimashita), meaning "Yes, understood." |
| はい、かしこまりました。(Hai, kashikomarimashita.) |
| The pattern is |
| すみません (Sumimasen)、ITEM を おねがいします (o onegai shimasu)。 |
| "Excuse me, ITEM, please." |
| すみません (Sumimasen)、ITEM を おねがいします (o onegai shimasu)。 |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the object you are requesting. |
| Imagine you’d like a menu. メニュー (menyū), メニュー (enunciated). メニュー。 |
| Say, "Excuse me, a menu, please." |
| Ready? |
| すみません、メニュー を おねがいします。(Sumimasen, menyū o onegai shimasu.) |
| "Excuse me, a menu, please." |
| すみません、メニュー を おねがいします。(Sumimasen, menyū o onegai shimasu.) |
| Note that when Jun wanted to get the server's attention, he loudly calls for him by saying, すみません (sumimasen). In Japanese culture, it's not impolite and often expected that you’ll call for your server's attention in this way. |
| Alternatively, you can also say おねがいします (onegai shimasu) to get a waiter's attention. |
| Again, the key pattern is |
| すみません (sumimasen)、ITEM を おねがいします。 (o onegai shimasu.) |
| "Excuse me, ITEM, please." |
| すみません (sumimasen)、ITEM を おねがいします。 (o onegai shimasu.) |
| Let's look at some examples. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers. |
| すみません、みずを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mizu o onegai shimasu.) |
| "Excuse me, water, please." |
| すみません、みずを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mizu o onegai shimasu.) |
| メニューを おねがいします。(Menyū o onegai shimasu.) |
| "A menu, please." |
| メニューを おねがいします。(Menyū o onegai shimasu.) |
| これを おねがいします。(Kore o onegai shimasu.) |
| "This please." |
| これを おねがいします。(Kore o onegai shimasu.) |
| おかいけいを おねがいします。(O-kaikei o onegai shimasu.) |
| "The check, please." |
| おかいけいを おねがいします。(O-kaikei o onegai shimasu.) |
| すみません、おかいけい、おねがいします。(Sumimasen, o-kaikei, onegai shimasu.) |
| "Excuse me, the check, please." |
| すみません、おかいけい、おねがいします。(Sumimasen, o-kaikei, onegai shimasu.) |
| Did you notice how the last speaker omitted the object-marking particle を (o)? |
| すみません、おかいけい、おねがいします。(Sumimasen, o-kaikei, onegai shimasu.) |
| “Excuse me, the check, please.” |
| First is すみません (sumimasen) "Excuse me." すみません. |
| Next is おかいけい (o-kaikei), the "check" or “bill,” as in the amount owed for food and drink in a restaurant or bar. おかいけい. |
| おかいけい (o-kaikei) is made up of two parts. |
| First is the honorific prefix, お (o). お. お. |
| Here the honorific prefix is placed in front of the noun かいけい (kaike), "bill" or “check.” か-い-け-い。 かいけい。 |
| Together, おかいけい (o-kaikei). |
| Note: you can say かいけい (kaike) without the honorific prefix, but by using お (o-) here, the speaker sounds more polite and refined. |
| Next the speaker omitted the particle を (o) that followed おかいけい (o-kaikei), "the check." |
| In Japanese, it's common to omit particles when the meaning is clear from context. Doing so is often associated with casual speech, but you'll also hear it in more formal language as well. |
| The pattern is: |
| ITEM おねがいします。(onegai shimasu.) |
| You should be aware of this shortcut, but for this lesson, we'll use the full sentence pattern: |
| すみません (Sumimasen)、ITEM を おねがいします。(o onegai shimasu.) |
| Let's review the new words. |
| これ (kore) |
| "this" |
| こ-れ |
| これ |
| かいけい (kaike) |
| "check" |
| かいけい |
| かいけい |
| おかいけい (o-kaikei) |
| the polite way to say "check." |
| おいけい |
| おかいけい |
| Let's review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speakers, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say "Excuse me"? |
| すみません (sumimasen) |
| すみません (sumimasen) |
| And how to say "please"? |
| おねがいします (onegai shimasu) |
| おねがいします (onegai shimasu) |
| Do you remember the word for “water?” |
| みず (mizu) |
| みず (mizu) |
| Do you remember how Jun Sasaki says, "Excuse me, water, please"? |
| すみません、みずを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mizu o onegai shimasu.) |
| すみません、みずを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mizu o onegai shimasu.) |
| Do you remember how to say “yes?” |
| はい (hai) |
| はい (hai) |
| Do you remember how the waiter says, “Yes, understood”? |
| はい、かしこまりました。(Hai, kashikomarimashita.) |
| はい、かしこまりました。(Hai, kashikomarimashita.) |
| Do you remember the polite way to say “check”? |
| おかいけい (o-kaikei) |
| おかいけい (o-kaikei) |
| And how to say “menu”? |
| メニュー (menyū) |
| メニュー (menyū) |
| Do you remember how to say “this”? |
| これ (kore) |
| これ (kore) |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you're Megumi Sasaki, and you’re at a restaurant. Get the waiter’s attention, and ask for the menu, or メニュー (menyū). |
| Ready? |
| すみません、メニュー を おねがいします。(Sumimasen, menyū o onegai shimasu.) |
| はい、かしこまりました。(Hai, kashikomarimashita.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| すみません、メニュー を おねがいします。(Sumimasen, menyū o onegai shimasu.) |
| すみません、メニュー を おねがいします。(Sumimasen, menyū o onegai shimasu.) |
| Let’s try another. |
| You see a picture of something you’d like on the menu. Order it using the word for “this," or これ (kore). |
| Ready? |
| すみません、これを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, kore o onegai shimasu.) |
| はい、かしこまりました。(Hai, kashikomarimashita.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| すみません、これを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, kore o onegai shimasu.) |
| すみません、これを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, kore o onegai shimasu.) |
| Let’s try one more. |
| Imagine you’re Jun Sasaki, and you’d like the check, or おかいけい (o-kaikei). |
| すみません、おかいけいを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, o-kaikei o onegai shimasu.) |
| はい、かしこまりました。(Hai, kashikomarimashita.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| すみません、おかいけいを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, o-kaikei o onegai shimasu.) |
| すみません、おかいけいを おねがいします。(Sumimasen, o-kaikei o onegai shimasu.) |
| Well done! This is the end of this lesson. |
| In this lesson, you learned how to order at a restaurant in Japanese, an essential skill for dining at a restaurant. |
| Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
| What's next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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