A Phone Is Sitting Alone on a Table in Tokyo. It Is Not Lost. It Is a Fence.
To say Sorry, this seat's taken in Japanese, say 席、取ってるんです (seki, totteru n desu).
There is a phone sitting alone on a table in a Tokyo food court. Nobody is watching it. It is not lost.
席、取ってるんです
seki, totteru n desu
Sorry, this seat's taken
In this video
- すみません、ここ、取ってるんです。 sumimasen, koko, totteru n desu. Sorry, this seat's taken.
- すみません、その席、取ってるんです。 sumimasen, sono seki, totteru n desu. Sorry, that seat's taken.
- かばんがあったら、そこは誰かの席です。 kaban ga attara, soko wa dareka no seki desu. If there's a bag there, that seat belongs to someone.
Why this phrase
Japan's 場所取り: a bag, a fan, even a phone left on a chair means that seat is claimed, and nobody touches it. Teach both halves so a visitor can read the room and hold their own seat. Frame it as what you will see, not as advice to leave your own valuables out.
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- A Stranger Just Sat Down at Your Table in Tokyo. The Staff Put Them There. · aiseki
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