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.
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Survival
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The Shaking Stops. The Word Every Announcement Says Next Isn't 地震.
yoshin · aftershock
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The Sign at the Trailhead Isn't Decoration. It's a Warning About What Lives Up There.
kuma shutsubotsu chūi · Caution: bears in the area.
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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)
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You Say Thank You at an Osaka Shop Counter. What Comes Back Is Not the Word You Learned.
ōkini · thank you (Kansai)
Survival
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The Train Is Packed and Four Seats Sit Empty. Two Kanji Explain Why.
yūsenseki · priority seat
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You Order in Japan and the Staff Fire Back an Eight Syllable Word. Do Not Answer It.
kashikomarimashita · Certainly. I've got it.
Survival
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You Drank Too Much in Japan Last Night. The Drugstore Has an Entire Shelf Waiting for You.
futsukayoi no kusuri wa arimasu ka? · Do you have anything for a hangover?
Survival
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He Abandoned His Own Direction and Walked You Three Blocks. Japan Has a Word for That.
tasukarimashita · You really saved me.
Survival
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A Stranger Stops in the Shinkansen Aisle, Checks His Ticket, Then Looks at You.
machigaemashita · I got it wrong. My mistake.
Survival
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That Japanese Timetable Has Two Columns. Reading the Wrong One Costs You an Hour.
donichishuku · Saturdays, Sundays and holidays
Survival
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The Fireworks Are Tonight. So Is the Typhoon.
sumimasen, chuushi desu ka? · Excuse me, is it cancelled?
Survival
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One of These Two Kanji Is Quietly Costing You Money All Over Japan.
muryou / yuuryou · free / costs money
Survival
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You Are Half Asleep on a Japanese Train. One Word Means Everybody Gets Off.
shuuten · the final stop, the end of the line
Survival
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The Staff Says One Sentence, Then Walks Away. You Are Not Being Ignored.
shoushou omachi kudasai · One moment, please
Survival
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The Cashier Sentence in Japan That Japanese People Themselves Say Is Wrong
sen'en kara oazukari shimasu · I'll take the one thousand yen
Survival
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Japanese Hotels Ask Every Foreign Guest for the Same Thing. It Is Not Your Booking.
pasupōto o onegai shimasu · Your passport, please
Survival
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Your Shinkansen Ticket Is Actually Two Tickets. The Gate Wants Both.
tokkyūken · limited express ticket (the second ticket)
Survival
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You Will Speak Japanese Before You Leave the Airport. One Word Is Enough.
kankō desu · Sightseeing. (my purpose of visit)
Survival
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The Ramen Cook Just Added an Egg You Did Not Order. One Word Tells You If It Is Free.
kore, saabisu desu · This one is on the house.
Survival
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The Counter Asks You One Word Before Your Food Is Rung Up. Say This or the Sides Never Come.
setto de · The set, please.
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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The Ticket Gate Just Shut on You in Japan. The Screen Is Telling You Why.
zangaku busoku · not enough balance left
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
Survival
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Online Says Sold Out. A Window at the Entrance Is Still Selling Tickets for Today.
toujitsuken · a same-day ticket, sold at the window on the day
Survival
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The Fireworks Ended. Now Staff Are Blocking the Station Entrance on Purpose.
nyuujou kisei · entry restriction: the station is letting people in in waves
Survival
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The Cheapest Good Lunch in Japan Is Not on the Menu. It Is on a Board by the Door.
higawari · the daily set: today's changing lunch
Survival
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It Is Thirty Six Degrees and the Locals Are Walking Straight Past the Coolest Car on the Train.
jakureibōsha · the mildly air-conditioned car
Survival
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Japan Cancelled Tomorrow's Trains. It Is Sunny Outside and the Notice Is Already Up.
keikaku unkyū · planned suspension of service
Survival
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You Bought the Festival Food. Now Do Not Take a Single Step.
tabearuki kinshi · no eating while walking
Survival
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You Walked Twenty Five Minutes in the Heat. The Card on That Door Says Closed Every Tuesday.
teikyūbi · regular weekly closing day
Survival
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The Izakaya Is Full, the Lights Are On, and They Just Turned You Away at the Door.
kashikiri · privately booked, reserved for one group
Survival
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You Wave. You Cough. Nobody Comes. There Is a Button Right Next to Your Hand.
yobidashi botan · call button
Survival
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Your Food Lands on the Counter and the Staff Apologizes to You. Nobody Did Anything Wrong.
omatase shimashita · Sorry to keep you waiting.
Survival
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One Short Line Makes Japanese Staff Slow Down and Walk You Through It. Say It Before You Panic.
koko, hajimete nan desu · It's my first time here.
Survival
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It Was Cloudless an Hour Ago. Japan Has a Word for the Wall of Water Now Coming Down.
gerira gouu · sudden localized downpour
Survival
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Your Train Just Died. Everyone Around You Is Walking to a Rival Railway.
furikae yusou, tsukaemasu ka? · Can I use the substitute transport?
Survival
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The Big Number on a Japanese Price Tag Is Not the One You Pay.
zeikomi · tax included
Survival
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Someone Thanks You in Japan. The Word You Memorized Is Not the One They Use.
ieie · not at all
Survival
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Twenty Five Thousand Steps a Day in Thirty Six Degrees. Your Feet Give Out Before Your Japanese Does.
bansoukou · adhesive bandage / plaster
Survival
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You Found Platform 14. You Found Seat 12A. You Are Still About to Miss the Shinkansen.
gōsha · car number
Survival
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It Is Not Raining in Tokyo. So Why Is Everyone Walking Under an Umbrella?
higasa · sun parasol
Survival
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Lights On, Staff Inside, Door Unlocked. This Little Sign Still Means Go Away.
junbi-chū · preparing, not open yet
Survival
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One Word in the Train Announcement Means Stand Up Now. Everything Else Is Noise.
mamonaku, shibuya desu · We will be arriving at Shibuya shortly.
Survival
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Don't Knock. The Little Window Already Answered You.
shiyouchuu · in use / occupied
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This Sign Means All You Can Eat. The Number Next to It Is a Countdown.
tabehoudai · all you can eat
Survival
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You Dropped Your Phone in Tokyo. This Tiny Building Gets It Back.
kouban · neighbourhood police box
Survival
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Every Shop in Japan Shouts This at You. You Are Not Supposed to Answer.
irasshaimase · welcome in (said by shop staff)
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It Is 36 Degrees and She Just Threw a Bucket of Water at the Pavement. She Is Not Cleaning.
uchimizu · sprinkling water to cool the street
Page 5 of 7 · 333 videos
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