Learn Japan in 30-second reels
Real phrases for the konbini, the restaurant, the train — each with romaji and English, ready to use the second you land.
All videos
Survival
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The Bill Charged You for the Chair
Sekiryō · seat charge
Survival
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Your Banknote Is Sitting on the Shrine Grate
saisen · shrine coin offering
Survival
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There Is No Cord to Pull. Your Stop Just Left Without You.
tsugi tomarimasu · stopping at the next stop
Survival
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You Ordered the Pine. That Set Is Usually the Top Price.
Ume de onegai shimasu · I'll take the plum set.
Survival
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You Came for Costumes and Saw Hats
Yūryō kanranseki · paid viewing seats
Survival
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You Bought Tickets for Green Trees
mada hayai desu · it's still too early
Survival
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You Skipped the One Monday the Museum Is Open
yokujitsu kyūkan · closed the following day
Survival
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That Cake Smell Is a Tree
Kinmokusei no kaori desu · It's the smell of fragrant olive.
Survival
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Japan Changed Clothes Overnight
koromogae · the seasonal clothes switch
Survival
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Half Price Strawberries. Two Kanji. Something Is Wrong With Them On Purpose.
wake ari · imperfect (there's a reason this is cheap)
Survival
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You Pulled Up to the Exit. The Bar Did Not Move. Twenty Cars Are Now Waiting.
Shutsujō-mae seisan · Pay before you exit.
Beginner
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You Dumped Unlabeled Grapes on the Belt. The Whole Line Just Died.
keiryō wa doko desu ka? · Where do I weigh this?
Survival
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The Biggest Stall Is Not Extra Room for Your Suitcase.
tamokuteki toire · accessible toilet
Survival
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Everyone Is Staring Because You Sat Down in the Bath. The Bucket Came First.
kakeyu o shite kudasai · Please rinse off before you get in.
Survival
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You Coughed Once. Six People Just Shifted Seats. Nobody Will Say Why.
masuku · mask
Survival
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The Beer Is 10%. The Onigiri Next to It Is 8%. Same Shelf.
keigen zeiritsu · reduced tax rate
Survival
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They Sat You Down at Seven. The Table Is Not Yours Past Eight Thirty.
irekae-sei · time-limit seating, turnover system
Survival
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The Best Lunch in the Japanese Countryside Is a Parking Lot With a Government Sign.
michi no eki · roadside station
Survival
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There Is a Raw Egg on Your Beef Bowl. That Is Not a Garnish. Crack It.
namatamago desu · It's a raw egg.
Survival
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You Stripped for the Onsen. Your Wallet Is Sitting in an Open Basket.
kichōhin rokkā · valuables locker
Survival
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She Kept Your Bread and Handed You a Paddle With 17 on It
bangō-fuda · number tag
Survival
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You Booked the Quiet Week in September. Japan Invented a Five-Day Weekend
renkyū · consecutive holidays / a long weekend
Survival
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All You Can Drink in Japan Starts a Clock You Cannot See.
nomihōdai de onegai shimasu · All-you-can-drink, please.
Beginner
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In Autumn Japan Goes Hunting for Grapes. You Can Come, and It's All-You-Can-Eat.
budō-gari · grape picking (the orchard all-you-can-eat visit)
Survival
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The Japanese Doctor Hands You a Piece of Paper Instead of Medicine. The Pills Are in a Different Building.
shohousen desu. onegai shimasu. · Here's my prescription. Please.
Survival
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You Sat Down at a Japanese Baseball Game. Half the Stadium Is About to Sing Without You.
ōenseki wa doko desu ka? · Where's the cheering section?
Survival
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Japan Has Two Emergency Numbers. The One That Brings an Ambulance Is Not the One You'd Guess.
hyaku-jūkyū-ban, onegai shimasu · Call 119, please
Survival
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One Piece Left on the Plate. Nobody Will Touch It. Japan Has a Name for It.
enryo naku dōzo. · Go on, don't hold back.
Survival
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The Best Food in the Station Is Behind a Gate You Have No Ticket For
nyūjōken o kudasai. · One admission ticket, please.
Survival
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The Ambulance Asks Where You Are. The Answer Is on the Vending Machine.
jūsho ga wakarimasen. · I don't know the address.
Survival
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Two of Your Four Shinkansen Seats Face Backwards. Nobody Tells You What to Do About It.
seki o mawashite mo ii desu ka? · Is it okay if we turn the seats around?
Survival
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It Is Ten at Night, You Are Sick, and a Plastic Sheet Says Nobody in the Building Can Sell You That.
yakuzaishi fuzai · no pharmacist on duty
Survival
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You Sat Down at the Ramen Counter and Nobody Is Taking Your Order. You Missed the Machine by the Door.
shokken wa saki desu ka? · Do I buy the ticket first?
Survival
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This Japanese Shop Is Lit, Open, and Completely Empty. It Still Expects You to Pay.
mujin hanbai · unstaffed shop, pay on the honour system
Survival
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The Shop Assistant Hands You a Bag Before You Try It On. It Goes Over Your Head.
feisu kabā · face cover (for trying clothes on)
Survival
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The Train Is Packed and Four Seats Sit Empty. Two Kanji Explain Why.
yūsenseki · priority seat
Beginner
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You Want a Real Japanese Souvenir. A Lot of That Shelf Was Made Somewhere Else.
kore, nihonsei desu ka? · Is this made in Japan?
Beginner
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Say Two Words of Japanese and Someone Will Call You Fluent. Now What?
mada mada desu · I've still got a long way to go
Intermediate
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The Fireworks Start at Seven. That Riverbank Was Claimed at Noon.
basho-tori · claiming a spot in advance
Survival
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That Little Dish You Never Ordered in Japan Isn't Free
otoshi · the small dish that arrives automatically, and the charge that comes with it
Survival
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Everyone Stops at This Stone Basin Before the Shrine. Nobody Tells You What to Do.
chouzuya · the purification basin at the entrance to a shrine
Intermediate
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That Sign Is Not Saying Please Be Careful. Japanese Has a Way of Saying No Without the Word No.
tabearuki wa go-enryo kudasai · Please refrain from eating while walking.
Intermediate
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It Is Thirty Five Degrees Outside and the Konbini Shelf Just Turned Into Autumn.
kikan gentei · limited time only
Intermediate
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Forty People Are Carrying a Gold Shrine and Shaking It as Hard as They Can. That Is the Point.
wasshoi · heave-ho (the mikoshi chant)
Intermediate
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They Just Lost. Now They Are on Their Knees Filling Their Bags With Dirt.
isshoukenmei · with everything you have
Intermediate
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Every Train in Japan Is Packed in Mid-August. The Country Is Going Home to See the Dead.
obon · Obon, the summer season honoring ancestors
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