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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You Are Bowing Way Too Much in Japan. This Is the One People Actually Use.
eshaku · a small nod bow
Survival
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On November 1st, Japan's Tax Free Discount Stops Happening at the Till.
menzei no tetsuzuki wa doko desu ka? · Where do I do the tax free procedure?
Beginner
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The Card Reader in Japan Offers to Charge You in Dollars. That's Not a Favour.
nihon'en de onegai shimasu · In yen, please.
Survival
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You Bought the Wrong Size in Tokyo. Japan Mostly Won't Refund You. Ask for This Instead.
koukan dekimasu ka? · Can I exchange this?
Survival
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Kyoto Now Taxes You Per Night, Per Person. At the Top End That's Ten Thousand Yen Each.
shukuhakuzei · lodging tax
Beginner
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You Made It to the Japanese Clinic. Reception Opens by Asking for a Card You Were Never Going to Have.
nihon no hokenshō wa arimasen · I don't have Japanese insurance
Survival
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The Card Machine Turns to Face You. Four Kanji, a Blinking Box, and a Queue Behind You.
anshou bangou · PIN
Beginner
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You Walked Thirty Minutes to That Restaurant in Japan. It Needed a Booking.
yoyaku wa hitsuyō desu ka · Do I need a reservation?
Survival
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The Beach Was Packed Last Week. Today One Small Sign Is Keeping Everyone Out of the Water.
kurage chuui · caution: jellyfish
Survival
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Two Weeks In and Everything You Own Is Damp. The Machine Only Speaks Kanji.
kansou · dry
Beginner
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Two Minutes Into Your Taxi Ride the Driver Asks a Question. Nodding Costs You Money.
kōsoku, tsukaimasu ka? · Shall I take the expressway?
Survival
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The Cashier Scanned Everything, Then Pointed Behind You and Walked Off. You Haven't Paid Yet.
achira de onegai shimasu · Please pay over there.
Survival
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The Crowd Won't Move for You. One Little Word Makes It Split.
sumimasen, chotto tōshite kudasai · excuse me, could I get through?
Survival
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You've Been Walking the Museum Backwards This Whole Time.
junro · the set route (follow the arrows)
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?
Survival
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The Shop Looks Closed. That Curtain In The Doorway Is Telling You It's Open.
eigyouchuu · Open for business
Beginner
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Every Cafe in Japan Asks You This in August. The Answer Is One Word.
aisu de onegai shimasu · iced, please
Survival
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Japan Just Made a New Word for Hot Official. It Starts at Forty Degrees.
kokushobi · a brutally hot day, forty degrees and up
Survival
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Your Tokyo Hotel AC Is Running and the Room Is Still Thirty Degrees. Read One Word on the Remote.
reibō · cooling mode
Beginner
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The Ramen Shop Has No Line. There's a Clipboard by the Door and Your Name Isn't on It.
koko ni namae o kakeba ii desu ka? · Should I write my name here?
Survival
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If You Hear This Word Behind You, You're Standing In The Wrong Place.
jama · in the way, a nuisance
Survival
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You Made the Last Train Back to Your Kyoto Guesthouse. The Front Door Still Won't Open.
mongen · the curfew, the hour the front door locks
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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You Stood Your Chopsticks Up in the Rice. In Japan You Just Set the Table for a Funeral.
hashioki, arimasu ka? · Do you have a chopstick rest?
Survival
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Two Stall Doors in an Old Japanese Station. Only the Kanji Tells You Which Is Which.
yōshiki · Western-style (toilet)
Survival
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The Ticket Gate Slammed Shut on You in Tokyo. Two Kanji Fix It.
seisan · fare adjustment
Survival
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Japan's Best Souvenir Is Hand-Painted While You Wait
goshuin · a hand-brushed shrine seal
Survival
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Your Train Just Got Cancelled. One Word Gets Your Money Back.
haraimodoshi dekimasu ka? · Can I get a refund?
Beginner
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That Chicken Is Pink in the Middle. In Japan That Might Be the Whole Point.
kore, nama desu ka? · Is this raw?
Survival
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You Lost Your Wallet in Japan. The Odds Are Genuinely on Your Side.
saifu o nakushimashita · I lost my wallet
Survival
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Full Bars, Zero Internet. Here's Exactly What to Say.
tsunagarimasen · It's not connecting.
Survival
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You Lost Your Friend in a Festival Crowd. Japanese Has One Word for It.
tomodachi to haguremashita · I got separated from my friend.
Survival
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Japan Barely Has Public Bins. The Ones It Does Have Are Judging You.
moeru gomi · burnable trash
Survival
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You Walk Into a Japanese Clinic Sick. Reception's First Question Isn't Your Name.
shoshin desu · It's my first visit.
Survival
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Fourteen Exits, One Giant Map, and You Can't Find Yourself On It.
genzaichi · you are here (current location)
Survival
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The Konbini Clerk Asks You Something Before They Scan Anything. It's Not About Money.
pointo kādo wa o-mochi desu ka? · Do you have a point card?
Survival
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For Ten Days in August, Japan Deletes Every Unreserved Seat on the Bullet Train.
kisei rasshu · the going-home travel rush
Survival
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Japan's Mailboxes Have Two Slots. Your Postcard Home Wants the Vague One.
sonota · other / everything else
Survival
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There's a Barber on Every Corner in Japan. Ten Minutes, One Sentence, Done.
mijikaku shite kudasai · Shorter, please.
Beginner
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A Typhoon Just Ate Your Plans. Don't Cancel Them. Move Them.
hinichi o henkō dekimasu ka? · Can I change the date?
Survival
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Your Train Is On the Board and It Is Not Going to Stop. Two Kanji Warned You.
tsūka · passes through, does not stop here
Survival
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The Museum Closes at Five. It Stopped Letting People In at Four Thirty.
saishū nyūjō · last admission
Survival
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The Matcha Tin Is Six Thousand Yen and You Still Can't Buy Two. The Shelf Says Why.
o-hitorisama itten made · One item per customer.
Survival
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The Shaking Stops. The Word Every Announcement Says Next Isn't 地震.
yoshin · aftershock
Survival
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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.
Beginner
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The Japanese Cold Medicine Box Is All Kanji. One Question Gets You the Dose.
kore, ichinichi nankai nomeba ii desu ka? · How many times a day should I take this?
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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You Say Thank You at an Osaka Shop Counter. What Comes Back Is Not the Word You Learned.
ōkini · thank you (Kansai)
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