6.1 Greetings and classroom words — Epoché
What you will be able to do Greet someone at any time of day, and answer when they greet you. Apologise, thank, and ask for something, in the forms Japanese actually uses. Name the things in a classroom, and ask a teacher to repeat or slow down. Know which greetings are fixed rituals with a required reply, and which are free. Prerequisites : lesson 8.1 — the first reading text, and four hundred beats of continuous prose. The vocabulary volume begins here, and it begins with the words you need first: what you say when you walk in, what you say when you get something wrong, and what the objects around you are called. All forty-eight are in kana, and every one of them will be useful within a day of arriving in Japan. One thing separates this list from an English phrasebook. A large part of Japanese greeting is paired : a fixed thing said, and a fixed thing said back. English has almost none of this — "how are you" has half a dozen possible answers — and getting the pairs right is worth more than getting more words. Word list Greetings and the set phrases Word Meaning Notes おはよう ja ohayō good morning — casual, to family and friends せんせい、おはようございます！ Good morning, teacher! おはようございます ja ohayō gozaimasu good morning — the polite form, to anyone else こんにちは ja konnichiha hello, good afternoon — from late morning until dusk こんにちは、おげんきですか。 Hello — how are you? こんばんは ja konbanha good evening おやすみなさい ja oyasumi nasai good night — said when someone is going to bed, not on leaving さようなら ja sayōnara goodbye — more final than English "goodbye"; not used daily to colleagues さようなら、またあすね。 Goodbye — see you tomorrow. またあした ja mata ashita see you tomorrow — what you actually say to a colleague はじめまして ja hajimemashite how do you do — used only at a first meeting, once よろしく ja yoroshiku please treat me kindly — the second half of an introduction どうぞよろしく ja dōzo yoroshiku the same, more politely いってきます ja itte kimasu I'm off — said by the person leaving the house いってらっしゃい ja itterasshai off you go — the required reply to the above ただいま ja tadaima I'm home — said on returning おかえりなさい ja okaeri nasai welcome back — the required reply to the above いただきます ja itadakimasu said before eating, by everyone, every time ごちそうさま ja gochisōsama said after eating, to whoever provided it おつかれさま ja otsukaresama thank you for your work — said leaving an office, in both directions おげんきですか ja ogenki desu ka how are you — but not a daily greeting; used after an absence おかげさまで ja okagesamade thanks to you, I'm well — the set reply おかげさまでげんきです。 Very well, thank you. しつれいします ja shitsurei shimasu excuse me — on entering or leaving a room, or interrupting おじゃまします ja ojama shimasu said on entering someone's home Thanks, apology, request Word Meaning Notes ありがとう ja arigatō thanks — casual ありがとう。げんきです。 Thanks — I'm well. ありがとう、もうけっこうです。 Thanks, but I've had enough. ありがとうございます ja arigatō gozaimasu thank you — the polite form; use this by default どうも ja dō mo thanks — very short, slightly brusque, extremely common どういたしまして ja dō itashimashite you're welcome — less used than the English equivalent すみません ja sumimasen sorry; excuse me; and also "thank you" — the most useful word in the language おはなしちゅうすみません。 Sorry to interrupt while you're talking. おじゃましてすみません。 I'm sorry for interrupting. ごめんなさい ja gomen nasai I'm sorry — a genuine apology, not an excuse-me おねがいします ja onegai shimasu please — used to request a thing or an action けっこうです ja kekkō desu no, thank you — declines; does not mean "that's fine" いえ、けっこうです。 No, thank you. だいじょうぶ ja daijōbu all right, no problem; and also "no thanks" はい ja hai yes; also "here you are" and "I'm listening" いいえ ja iie no そうです ja sō desu that's right わかりました ja wakarimashita I understand, understood しりません ja shirimasen I don't know The classroom Word Meaning Notes せんせい ja sensei teacher — also used as a form of address, in place of a name がくせい ja gaku sei student きょうしつ ja kyōshitsu classroom じゅぎょう ja jugyō a class, a lesson しゅくだい ja shuku da i homework れんしゅう ja renshū practice しつもん ja shitsumon a question いいしつもんですね。 That's a good question. こたえ ja kotae an answer ことば ja kotoba a word; language いみ ja imi meaning そのいみがわかりません。 I don't understand what that means. こくばん ja kokuban blackboard やすみ ja yasumi a break; a holiday; a day off もういちど ja mō ichi do once more ゆっくり ja yukkuri slowly The pairs Four exchanges are fixed, and both halves are obligatory. Learning them as pairs is much easier than learning them as eight separate words, and it is how they exist in a Japanese speaker's head. Said by Answered with いってきます — the person leaving いってらっしゃい — whoever stays ただいま — the person arriving home おかえりなさい — whoever is in いただきます — before eating ごちそうさま — after eating おげんきですか — after an absence おかげさまで — the set reply The first two are said in Japanese homes several times a day, by everyone, including to a person you saw ten minutes ago. Nothing in English corresponds; "bye" and "I'm back" are optional and variable, and these are neither. すみません does four jobs If you learn one word from this lesson, learn this one, and learn that it is not simply "sorry". Use English attracting attention excuse me — to a waiter, a stranger, a shop assistant a small apology sorry — for being late, for bumping into someone thanks for trouble taken thank you — for something that cost the other person effort declining or interrupting I'm afraid …, if I may … The third use is the one English speakers miss. When someone holds a door, carries something for you, or looks up an address on your behalf, すみません is a natural response — because the thing being acknowledged is the trouble you caused, not the kindness you received. English would use "thank you" and Japanese has both available; noticing which one is chosen tells you a good deal about the language. Two more words in the list are worth a warning of the same kind. けっこうです looks like "that's fine" and means "no thank you" — it declines. And だいじょうぶ , which means "all right", is now also used to decline an