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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You Are Bowing Way Too Much in Japan. This Is the One People Actually Use. Survival ▶

You Are Bowing Way Too Much in Japan. This Is the One People Actually Use.

eshaku · a small nod bow

Etiquette #japantips

On November 1st, Japan's Tax Free Discount Stops Happening at the Till. Survival ▶

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?

news-explainer #japantips

The Card Reader in Japan Offers to Charge You in Dollars. That's Not a Favour. Beginner ▶

The Card Reader in Japan Offers to Charge You in Dollars. That's Not a Favour.

nihon'en de onegai shimasu · In yen, please.

situational-roleplay #japantips

You Bought the Wrong Size in Tokyo. Japan Mostly Won't Refund You. Ask for This Instead. Survival ▶

You Bought the Wrong Size in Tokyo. Japan Mostly Won't Refund You. Ask for This Instead.

koukan dekimasu ka? · Can I exchange this?

situational-roleplay #japantips

Kyoto Now Taxes You Per Night, Per Person. At the Top End That's Ten Thousand Yen Each. Survival ▶

Kyoto Now Taxes You Per Night, Per Person. At the Top End That's Ten Thousand Yen Each.

shukuhakuzei · lodging tax

Common Mistake #japantips

You Made It to the Japanese Clinic. Reception Opens by Asking for a Card You Were Never Going to Have. Beginner ▶

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

situational #japantips

The Card Machine Turns to Face You. Four Kanji, a Blinking Box, and a Queue Behind You. Survival ▶

The Card Machine Turns to Face You. Four Kanji, a Blinking Box, and a Queue Behind You.

anshou bangou · PIN

sign-decode #japantips

You Walked Thirty Minutes to That Restaurant in Japan. It Needed a Booking. Beginner ▶

You Walked Thirty Minutes to That Restaurant in Japan. It Needed a Booking.

yoyaku wa hitsuyō desu ka · Do I need a reservation?

mini-scenario #japantips

The Beach Was Packed Last Week. Today One Small Sign Is Keeping Everyone Out of the Water. Survival ▶

The Beach Was Packed Last Week. Today One Small Sign Is Keeping Everyone Out of the Water.

kurage chuui · caution: jellyfish

sign-decode #japantips

Two Weeks In and Everything You Own Is Damp. The Machine Only Speaks Kanji. Survival ▶

Two Weeks In and Everything You Own Is Damp. The Machine Only Speaks Kanji.

kansou · dry

sign-decode #japantips

Two Minutes Into Your Taxi Ride the Driver Asks a Question. Nodding Costs You Money. Beginner ▶

Two Minutes Into Your Taxi Ride the Driver Asks a Question. Nodding Costs You Money.

kōsoku, tsukaimasu ka? · Shall I take the expressway?

role-play #japantips

The Cashier Scanned Everything, Then Pointed Behind You and Walked Off. You Haven't Paid Yet. Survival ▶

The Cashier Scanned Everything, Then Pointed Behind You and Walked Off. You Haven't Paid Yet.

achira de onegai shimasu · Please pay over there.

mini-scenario #japantips

The Crowd Won't Move for You. One Little Word Makes It Split. Survival ▶

The Crowd Won't Move for You. One Little Word Makes It Split.

sumimasen, chotto tōshite kudasai · excuse me, could I get through?

situational #japantips

You've Been Walking the Museum Backwards This Whole Time. Survival ▶

You've Been Walking the Museum Backwards This Whole Time.

junro · the set route (follow the arrows)

sign-decode #japantips

Four Minutes to the Last Train. Don't Ask Where. Ask This. Survival ▶

Four Minutes to the Last Train. Don't Ask Where. Ask This.

mada ma ni aimasu ka? · can I still make it in time?

mini-dialogue #japantips

The Shop Looks Closed. That Curtain In The Doorway Is Telling You It's Open. Survival ▶

The Shop Looks Closed. That Curtain In The Doorway Is Telling You It's Open.

eigyouchuu · Open for business

sign-decode #japantips

Every Cafe in Japan Asks You This in August. The Answer Is One Word. Beginner ▶

Every Cafe in Japan Asks You This in August. The Answer Is One Word.

aisu de onegai shimasu · iced, please

role-play #japantips

Japan Just Made a New Word for Hot Official. It Starts at Forty Degrees. Survival ▶

Japan Just Made a New Word for Hot Official. It Starts at Forty Degrees.

kokushobi · a brutally hot day, forty degrees and up

sign-decode #japantips

Your Tokyo Hotel AC Is Running and the Room Is Still Thirty Degrees. Read One Word on the Remote. Survival ▶

Your Tokyo Hotel AC Is Running and the Room Is Still Thirty Degrees. Read One Word on the Remote.

reibō · cooling mode

sign-decode #japantips

The Ramen Shop Has No Line. There's a Clipboard by the Door and Your Name Isn't on It. Beginner ▶

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?

role-play #japantips

If You Hear This Word Behind You, You're Standing In The Wrong Place. Survival ▶

If You Hear This Word Behind You, You're Standing In The Wrong Place.

jama · in the way, a nuisance

mini-dialogue #japantips

You Made the Last Train Back to Your Kyoto Guesthouse. The Front Door Still Won't Open. Survival ▶

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

situation-rescue #japantips

This Japanese Shop Is Lit, Open, and Completely Empty. It Still Expects You to Pay. Survival ▶

This Japanese Shop Is Lit, Open, and Completely Empty. It Still Expects You to Pay.

mujin hanbai · unstaffed shop, pay on the honour system

cultural-explainer #japantips

You Stood Your Chopsticks Up in the Rice. In Japan You Just Set the Table for a Funeral. Survival ▶

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?

Common Mistake #japantips

Two Stall Doors in an Old Japanese Station. Only the Kanji Tells You Which Is Which. Survival ▶

Two Stall Doors in an Old Japanese Station. Only the Kanji Tells You Which Is Which.

yōshiki · Western-style (toilet)

sign literacy #japantips

The Ticket Gate Slammed Shut on You in Tokyo. Two Kanji Fix It. Survival ▶

The Ticket Gate Slammed Shut on You in Tokyo. Two Kanji Fix It.

seisan · fare adjustment

transit rescue #japantips

Japan's Best Souvenir Is Hand-Painted While You Wait Survival ▶

Japan's Best Souvenir Is Hand-Painted While You Wait

goshuin · a hand-brushed shrine seal

culture + phrase #japantips

Your Train Just Got Cancelled. One Word Gets Your Money Back. Survival ▶

Your Train Just Got Cancelled. One Word Gets Your Money Back.

haraimodoshi dekimasu ka? · Can I get a refund?

situational #japantips

That Chicken Is Pink in the Middle. In Japan That Might Be the Whole Point. Beginner ▶

That Chicken Is Pink in the Middle. In Japan That Might Be the Whole Point.

kore, nama desu ka? · Is this raw?

food + phrase #japantips

You Lost Your Wallet in Japan. The Odds Are Genuinely on Your Side. Survival ▶

You Lost Your Wallet in Japan. The Odds Are Genuinely on Your Side.

saifu o nakushimashita · I lost my wallet

emergency phrase #japantips

Full Bars, Zero Internet. Here's Exactly What to Say. Survival ▶

Full Bars, Zero Internet. Here's Exactly What to Say.

tsunagarimasen · It's not connecting.

situational #japantips

You Lost Your Friend in a Festival Crowd. Japanese Has One Word for It. Survival ▶

You Lost Your Friend in a Festival Crowd. Japanese Has One Word for It.

tomodachi to haguremashita · I got separated from my friend.

situational #japantips

Japan Barely Has Public Bins. The Ones It Does Have Are Judging You. Survival ▶

Japan Barely Has Public Bins. The Ones It Does Have Are Judging You.

moeru gomi · burnable trash

signs + phrase #japantips

You Walk Into a Japanese Clinic Sick. Reception's First Question Isn't Your Name. Survival ▶

You Walk Into a Japanese Clinic Sick. Reception's First Question Isn't Your Name.

shoshin desu · It's my first visit.

health + phrase #japantips

Fourteen Exits, One Giant Map, and You Can't Find Yourself On It. Survival ▶

Fourteen Exits, One Giant Map, and You Can't Find Yourself On It.

genzaichi · you are here (current location)

Listening Recognition #japantips

The Konbini Clerk Asks You Something Before They Scan Anything. It's Not About Money. Survival ▶

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?

mini-dialogue #japantips

For Ten Days in August, Japan Deletes Every Unreserved Seat on the Bullet Train. Survival ▶

For Ten Days in August, Japan Deletes Every Unreserved Seat on the Bullet Train.

kisei rasshu · the going-home travel rush

travel + phrase #japantips

Japan's Mailboxes Have Two Slots. Your Postcard Home Wants the Vague One. Survival ▶

Japan's Mailboxes Have Two Slots. Your Postcard Home Wants the Vague One.

sonota · other / everything else

signs + phrase #japantips

There's a Barber on Every Corner in Japan. Ten Minutes, One Sentence, Done. Survival ▶

There's a Barber on Every Corner in Japan. Ten Minutes, One Sentence, Done.

mijikaku shite kudasai · Shorter, please.

everyday + phrase #japantips

A Typhoon Just Ate Your Plans. Don't Cancel Them. Move Them. Beginner ▶

A Typhoon Just Ate Your Plans. Don't Cancel Them. Move Them.

hinichi o henkō dekimasu ka? · Can I change the date?

travel + phrase #japantips

Your Train Is On the Board and It Is Not Going to Stop. Two Kanji Warned You. Survival ▶

Your Train Is On the Board and It Is Not Going to Stop. Two Kanji Warned You.

tsūka · passes through, does not stop here

Listening Recognition #japantips

The Museum Closes at Five. It Stopped Letting People In at Four Thirty. Survival ▶

The Museum Closes at Five. It Stopped Letting People In at Four Thirty.

saishū nyūjō · last admission

sign-decode #japantips

The Matcha Tin Is Six Thousand Yen and You Still Can't Buy Two. The Shelf Says Why. Survival ▶

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.

sign-decode #japantips

The Shaking Stops. The Word Every Announcement Says Next Isn't 地震. Survival ▶

The Shaking Stops. The Word Every Announcement Says Next Isn't 地震.

yoshin · aftershock

Listening Recognition #japantips

The Sign at the Trailhead Isn't Decoration. It's a Warning About What Lives Up There. Survival ▶

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.

sign-decode #japantips

The Japanese Cold Medicine Box Is All Kanji. One Question Gets You the Dose. Beginner ▶

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?

situation-rescue #japantips

The Shop Assistant Hands You a Bag Before You Try It On. It Goes Over Your Head. Survival ▶

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)

cultural-explainer #japantips

You Say Thank You at an Osaka Shop Counter. What Comes Back Is Not the Word You Learned. Survival ▶

You Say Thank You at an Osaka Shop Counter. What Comes Back Is Not the Word You Learned.

ōkini · thank you (Kansai)

Listening Recognition #japantips

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