If You Hear This Word Behind You, You're Standing In The Wrong Place.
To say in the way, a nuisance in Japanese, say 邪魔 (jama).
You stop to take a photo on a narrow Kyoto lane. Someone behind you says 「邪魔」. That is not small talk. You are physically in the way, and you have about two seconds to move.
邪魔
jama
in the way, a nuisance
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Beginner
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One Japanese Sentence Gets You Anything a Shop Might Have
~ wa arimasu ka? · Do you have ~?
Survival
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Four Minutes to the Last Train. Don't Ask Where. Ask This.
mada ma ni aimasu ka? · can I still make it in time?
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The Konbini Sells Fireworks All August. Where You Can Light Them Is the Catch.
koko de hanabi o shite mo ii desu ka? · Is it okay to do fireworks here?
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Two Seats on the Same Shinkansen Cost the Same. Only One of Them Sees Mount Fuji.
madogawa de onegai shimasu · A window seat, please.
More phrases like this
- You Booked Two Shinkansen Tickets. Japan Gave You Two Seats in Different Rows. · sumimasen, seki, kawatte moraemasen ka?
- The Konbini Clerk Asks You Something Before They Scan Anything. It's Not About Money. · pointo kādo wa o-mochi desu ka?
- Japanese Hotels Ask Every Foreign Guest for the Same Thing. It Is Not Your Booking. · pasupōto o onegai shimasu
- A Stranger in Japan Will Ask You One Question. Most Tourists Just Smile and Nod. · sugoku tanoshii desu
- "Sorry, We Are Full." In Japan That Is Not the End of the Conversation. · kyanseru-machi wa dekimasu ka?
- Your Ryokan Is a Two Thousand Yen Taxi From the Station. It Also Runs a Free Van. · sougei basu wa arimasu ka?
- The Karaoke Desk Asks One Thing Before They Hand You a Room. · nijikan de onegai shimasu
- Someone Thanks You in Japan. The Word You Memorized Is Not the One They Use. · ieie
- Two ATMs on the Same Street in Japan. Only One Takes Your Foreign Card. · kaigai no kaado wa tsukaemasu ka?
- Everything at a Japanese Izakaya Lands on One Giant Plate. Nobody Tells You to Ask for This. · torizara o kudasai
- Booked a Ryokan? Breakfast Is Half the Reason You Came. Ask What Time It Starts. · asagohan wa nanji desu ka
- At a Japanese Konbini, the Clerk Asks About a Bag. Saying No Saves You Money. · fukuro wa irimasen
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