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 Beer Is 10%. The Onigiri Next to It Is 8%. Same Shelf.
keigen zeiritsu · reduced tax rate
Survival
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Your Suitcase Just Jammed in a Tokyo Ticket Gate. There Was One Gate You Should Have Used.
koko, tōremasu ka? · Can I get through here?
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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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.
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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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)
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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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
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?
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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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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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
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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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
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)
Survival
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Even Japanese People Cannot Make Out What That Sushi Chain Announcement Says. Two Words in It Mean the Next Plate Is Yours.
mamonaku go-chūmon no shina ga tōchaku itashimasu · Your order will be arriving shortly.
Survival
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You Sat Down at the Ramen Counter and Nobody Is Taking Your Order. You Missed the Machine by the Door.
shokken wa saki desu ka? · Do I buy the ticket first?
Beginner
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Your Glasses Went Crooked in Kyoto. The Right Glasses Chain Straightens Them at the Counter, Usually Free.
megane no chousei, onegai dekimasu ka? · Could you adjust my glasses?
Survival
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It Is Thirty Five Degrees and Your Nose Will Not Stop Running. You Did Not Catch a Cold in Japan.
kafunshou desu. · I have hay fever.
Survival
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Tell a Japanese Friend Good News and She'll Yell 'Liar' Right at You
hontō desu ka? · Really?! / For real?
Beginner
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Everyone at the Table Ordered Beer. You Don't Drink. One Sentence Ends It on the First Ask.
osake, nomenai n desu · I can't drink alcohol
Survival
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The Beef Jerky in Your Bag Is a Criminal Offence at Japanese Arrivals
iie, motte imasen · No, I don't have any
Beginner
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You Rented a Car in Japan and Drove Into the Purple Lane. The Barrier Isn't Going Up.
ītīshī kādo wa kariraremasu ka? · Can I rent an ETC card?
Survival
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Your Lunch Set Comes With Coffee. In Japan It Turns Up Next to the Soup.
shokugo ni onegai shimasu. · After the meal, please.
Survival
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You Bought Trousers in Tokyo and They're Ten Centimetres Too Long. The Shop Fixes That Before You Leave.
susoage dekimasu ka? · Can you hem these?
Survival
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People Here Hold a Cafe Table With Just a Phone. So Why Does the Station Warn You About This?
okibiki · theft of a bag you set down
Survival
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Everyone Here Cycles Under an Umbrella. Since April, That's a Ticket.
kasasashi unten · riding a bike while holding an umbrella
Beginner
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Every Japanese Department Store Has a Free Room With a Sofa and Hot Water. It's Not on the English Floor Map.
omutsu-gae no basho wa arimasu ka? · Is there somewhere to change a nappy?
Survival
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A Siren Goes Off Over the Whole Neighbourhood in Japan. One Word in the Announcement Tells You Not to Run.
kore wa kunren desu · This is a drill.
Beginner
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You Ask a Japanese Drugstore for Sunburn Cream and Get Sent Back to the Sunscreen. One Word Fixes It.
hiyake de hirihiri suru n desu · I'm sunburnt and it stings.
Survival
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You Had a Bath at a Japanese Home and Pulled the Plug. Three People Were Still Waiting for That Water.
oyu wa nukanaide kudasai · Please don't drain the tub.
Beginner
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You Gave Up Your Seat in Japan and Got Turned Down. There's a Tiny Lie That Fixes It.
tsugi de orimasu node, dōzo · I'm getting off at the next stop, so please, go ahead.
Survival
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You Locked Your Passport in the Hotel Safe Like Everyone Said. In Japan That's the Wrong Move.
pasupōto o misete kudasai · Please show me your passport.
Survival
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The Yellow Bumpy Strip in Every Japanese Station Is Not Decoration.
tenji burokku · tactile paving
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