A Stranger in Japan Will Ask You One Question. Most Tourists Just Smile and Nod.
To say I'm having a great time. in Japanese, say すごく楽しいです (sugoku tanoshii desu).
Someone just asked you how you are finding Japan. You have about two seconds before the nod.
Kanji in this phrase
- 楽しい
- たのしい
Why this phrase
An izakaya counter at night. Hana plays the neighbouring customer who asks the standard opener, how is Japan; Kofuku plays the tourist who almost nods, then answers properly. One takeaway: sugoku plus an i-adjective, which is the reusable half (sugoku oishii desu, sugoku kirei desu). Teach the adverb form sugoku, not the colloquial sugoi tanoshii, so the pattern stays safe to reuse. Say why tanoshii is the right adjective here: omoshiroi would mean interesting or amusing about a thing, and ii desu is flat and slightly evasive. This is the answer Japanese people are actually hoping to hear, and it is what turns a nod into a conversation.
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More phrases like this
- Two Seats on the Same Shinkansen Cost the Same. Only One of Them Sees Mount Fuji. · madogawa de onegai shimasu
- 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
- "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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