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 Paid 700 Yen for an Umbrella. The Hotel Barrel Was Free.
kashigasa · umbrellas for loan
Survival
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Every September Japan Puts an Egg on a Burger. The Reason Is About a Thousand Years Old.
tsukimi · moon viewing. The egg is the moon.
Survival
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Stand Left in Tokyo, Right in Osaka. Two Places Made a Rule Saying It Doesn't Matter.
tachidomatte go-riyō kudasai. · Please stand still while riding.
Beginner
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The Best Shop Has No Website. One Phone Sentence Is the Trick.
ima kara itte mo daijōbu desu ka? · Is it okay if we come now?
Survival
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You Ordered Iced Tea. They Charged You for a Lipton.
mugicha · barley tea
Survival
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That Train Announcement Is Not Asking You to Be Polite. It Is Telling You to Hang Up.
tsūwa wa go-enryo kudasai · please refrain from talking on the phone
Survival
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You Get Through to 119 in Japan. The First Thing They Ask Isn't What Happened.
kyūkyū desu · Ambulance, a medical emergency
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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If You Hear This, Do Not Run. The Door Will Win.
kakekomi jōsha wa oyame kudasai · Please do not rush onto the train
Survival
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Everyone Says Buy a Suica the Second You Land. Since March, 729 Stations Just Take the Card in Your Pocket.
tatchi kessai · tap to pay (contactless)
Beginner
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You Introduced Yourself in Japanese and Accidentally Called Yourself Sir.
Jon desu · I am John (never Jon-san)
Survival
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Japan's Stop Sign Is a Red Triangle, and Missing It Is the Country's Number One Ticket
tomare · STOP (sign wording)
Survival
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Your Power Bank Isn't Allowed in the Overhead Bin on a Japanese Flight. It Has to Stay Where You Can Reach It.
mobairu batterī wa otemoto ni oite kudasai · Please keep your power bank within reach.
Survival
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You Read the Right Kanji Last Night. Tonight the Same Door Is the Women's Bath.
danjo irekae · men's and women's baths swap over
Survival
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Your Yakiniku Grill Went Black in Ten Minutes. You Are Not Supposed to Keep Cooking on That.
ami, otorikae shimashou ka? · Shall I change the grill for you?
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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The Storm Heading for Your Trip Has a Name. Nobody in Japan Will Use It.
taifū jūni-gō · Typhoon No. 12
Survival
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Your Taxi Gets More Expensive at Night. Four Kanji Tell You When.
shin'ya ryōkin · late-night rate
Survival
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The Only Empty Seats on a Packed Tokyo Train Are Upstairs. Sitting In One Costs Extra.
guriin-sha · the paid upgrade car, a separate ticket
Survival
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That Deer Just Headbutted You. You Held the Crackers Like a Snack.
shika senbei, hito-fukuro kudasai · One pack of deer crackers, please
Beginner
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The Photo Booth Corner in Japan Has a Sign About You. It Isn't What You'll Assume.
dansei dake demo daijōbu desu ka? · Is it okay if it's just guys?
Survival
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Two Kyoto Buses at the Same Stop Have the Same Number. One of Them Is Going the Long Way Round.
kono basu wa Kinkaku-ji ni ikimasu ka? · Does this bus go to Kinkaku-ji?
Beginner
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You Stepped Out for Ice in a Yukata. The Door Clicked Behind You.
heya ni kagi o wasuremashita · I left my key in the room.
Survival
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The Whole Platform Stepped Back at the Same Second. Nobody Looked Up.
osagari kudasai · please step back
Survival
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Everyone in the Carriage Turned at Once. The Announcement Had Just Told Them Which Door Opens.
o-deguchi wa migigawa desu · The doors will open on the right.
Beginner
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Wallet Gone, No Way Home. The Japanese Police Box Has a Form for This.
kaeri no denshachin o kashite itadakemasen ka. · Could you lend me the fare to get home?
Survival
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The Machine Has Your Note and Keeps Spitting It Back. One Small Light Says Why.
tsurisen-gire · out of change (exact coins only)
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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You Missed Your Reserved Shinkansen. Do Not Buy Another Ticket.
noriokuremashita. · I missed my train.
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.
Beginner
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Your App Says It Means "Nice to Meet You." People Say It to Their Dentist.
yoroshiku onegai shimasu · I'm in your hands, please treat me well
Survival
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A Hotel Room in Japan Without a Kettle? Just Ask for One.
ketoru arimasu ka? · Is there a kettle?
Survival
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When a Japanese Shop Starts Playing This Song, You Are Being Asked to Leave.
heiten · closing for the day
Survival
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Same Room, Two Prices. The Cheaper One Is Not a Discount.
shukuhaku · an overnight stay (the other row, 休憩, is a short rest block)
Survival
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Your App Taught You "I Want." Say That to Staff and You Sound Like a Four-Year-Old.
mōfu, onegai shimasu · a blanket, please
Beginner
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Your Pile of One-Yen Coins Has a Legal Limit. It Is Twenty.
kozeni demo ii desu ka · is it okay if I pay in coins?
Survival
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A Stranger Offers You a Half-Price Bar Upstairs. This Is the One You Walk Past.
machiawase desu · I'm meeting someone
Survival
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You're on the Right Train. You're in the Wrong Half of It.
kirihanashi · uncoupling: this train splits here
Beginner
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You Came for Conveyor Belt Sushi. Most Chains Stopped Rotating It.
chūmon wa tatchi paneru desu ka? · Do I order on the touch panel?
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?
Beginner
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You Asked Them to Say It Again. They Said the Same Word Again, Just Slower.
dō iu imi desu ka? · What does that mean?
Survival
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No Eating While You Walk, No Bins. So Where Does the Skewer Go?
gomi, onegai dekimasu ka? · Could you take this rubbish for me?
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
Beginner
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Japan Went Cashless. This Cafe Still Will Not Take Your Card for a Four Hundred Yen Coffee.
kādo wa ikura kara tsukaemasu ka? · From how much can I use a card?
Beginner
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You Nodded at One Polite Question. That Is Why Your Food Is Arriving One Plate Every Eight Minutes.
o-ryōri wa issho ni onegai shimasu · The food all together, please.
Survival
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You Won the Plastic Bag Argument. Now the Cashier Is Holding a Strip of Tape and Waiting.
tēpu de yoroshii desu ka? · Is tape okay? (instead of a bag)
Page 3 of 12 · 542 videos
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