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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You Will Speak Japanese Before You Leave the Airport. One Word Is Enough.
kankō desu · Sightseeing. (my purpose of visit)
Beginner
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The Ramen Shop Asks How You Want Your Noodles. Say Nothing and You Get the Boring Answer.
katame de onegai shimasu · Firm, please
Beginner
▶
A Stranger in Japan Will Ask You One Question. Most Tourists Just Smile and Nod.
sugoku tanoshii desu · I'm having a great time.
Beginner
▶
"Sorry, We Are Full." In Japan That Is Not the End of the Conversation.
kyanseru-machi wa dekimasu ka? · Can I go on the cancellation waiting list?
Beginner
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You Fell Asleep on a Japanese Train and Woke Up Somewhere Else. Say This at the Gate.
norisugoshimashita · I missed my stop.
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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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
▶
The Counter Asks You One Word Before Your Food Is Rung Up. Say This or the Sides Never Come.
setto de · The set, please.
Beginner
▶
That Ryokan Costs Forty Thousand Yen a Night. You Can Use Its Hot Spring for About a Thousand.
higaeri nyuuyoku, dekimasu ka? · Can I use the bath just for the day?
Beginner
▶
The Kyoto Bus Has Not Moved in Ten Minutes. Everyone Overtaking It Is on a Bicycle.
jitensha o karitai desu · I'd like to rent a bicycle.
Intermediate
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Someone in Japan Calls You Over. The English Word Coming Sends You the Wrong Way.
ima ikimasu · I'm coming right now.
Survival
▶
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
▶
The Ticket Gate Just Shut on You in Japan. The Screen Is Telling You Why.
zangaku busoku · not enough balance left
Survival
▶
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
Beginner
▶
Your Flight Just Got Cancelled by a Typhoon. Check Out Is in Forty Minutes.
mou ippaku dekimasu ka? · Can I stay one more night?
Beginner
▶
Your Ryokan Is a Two Thousand Yen Taxi From the Station. It Also Runs a Free Van.
sougei basu wa arimasu ka? · Is there a shuttle bus?
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
▶
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
▶
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
Beginner
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The Phone in Your Karaoke Room Rings. Nobody Told You It Was a Countdown.
enchō dekimasu ka? · Can I extend?
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
▶
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
▶
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
▶
You Wave. You Cough. Nobody Comes. There Is a Button Right Next to Your Hand.
yobidashi botan · call button
Survival
▶
Your Food Lands on the Counter and the Staff Apologizes to You. Nobody Did Anything Wrong.
omatase shimashita · Sorry to keep you waiting.
Survival
▶
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.
Beginner
▶
You Land at Nine. Check In Is at Three. Here Is the Sentence, and the Answer You Will Actually Get.
hayame ni chekku-in dekimasu ka · Can I check in early?
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
Beginner
▶
A Hand Reaches for Your Plate in Japan. You Are Not Finished.
mada tabete imasu · I'm still eating.
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
▶
Your Train Just Died. Everyone Around You Is Walking to a Rival Railway.
furikae yusou, tsukaemasu ka? · Can I use the substitute transport?
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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On August Seventh Japan's Calendar Says It Is Autumn. Then You Step Outside.
zansho ga kibishii desu ne · The lingering heat is brutal, isn't it.
Survival
▶
The Big Number on a Japanese Price Tag Is Not the One You Pay.
zeikomi · tax included
Beginner
▶
The Karaoke Desk Asks One Thing Before They Hand You a Room.
nijikan de onegai shimasu · Two hours, please.
Survival
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Someone Thanks You in Japan. The Word You Memorized Is Not the One They Use.
ieie · not at all
Intermediate
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They Just Lost. Now They Are on Their Knees Filling Their Bags With Dirt.
isshoukenmei · with everything you have
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
Beginner
▶
Mid August You Walk to That Ramen Shop and It Is Dark. The Whole Street Took the Same Week Off.
obon wa oyasumi desu ka? · Are you closed for Obon?
Survival
▶
You Found Platform 14. You Found Seat 12A. You Are Still About to Miss the Shinkansen.
gōsha · car number
Beginner
▶
You Just Bought 3,000 Yen of Kyoto Sweets. It Is 36 Degrees. Ask for This at the Register.
horeizai o irete moraemasu ka? · Could you put in an ice pack?
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
▶
Don't Knock. The Little Window Already Answered You.
shiyouchuu · in use / occupied
Page 7 of 12 · 551 videos
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