Useful Japanese expressions 5: Osusume wa nan desuka? (What would you recommend?)

みなさん、こんにちは！

Hi everyone! This is the photo of the Nagasaki Champon that I had when I visited Nagasaki City in Kyushu Island. It is a noodle dish with fried pork, vegetables, seafood, etc., created more than a century ago, inspired by a Chinese dish. You don't have to go all the way to Nagasaki only to eat this regional cuisine, though. At a nationwide chain restaurant Ringerhut they offer tasty Nagasaki Champon for less than 600 yen.  

When you know what you'd like to eat, there'll be no problem. You only have to say,

長崎ちゃんぽんください。　Nagasaki Champon kudasai. (Nagasaki champon,please)

But when you go into a restaurant that you happen to find and you are given a menu written all in Japanese with no photos on it, what should you do?

Today, I'll teach you how to deal with such a situation.

First of all, tell them that you can't read Japanese.

すみません。日本語が読めません。　Sumimasen. Nihongo ga yomemasen.  (Excuse me, I can't read Japanese)  

Sumimasen means "excuse me" or "I'm sorry", or even "thank you" depending on the context.
Nihongo: Japanese
Yomemasen: can not read.

Then ask them their recommendation. That's probably the easiest.

おすすめは何ですか。　Osusume wa nan desuka?  (What would you recommend?)

Osusume means recommendation, and "nan desuka?" is "What is?"

If there are ingredients you cannot eat, say as follows:

豚肉は食べられません。　Butaniku wa taberaremasen. (I cannot eat pork.)  

Butaniku is pork, and taberaremasen is "I cannot eat." You can replace butaniku with other ingredients such as 肉（niku, meat), 魚（sakana, fish) and 卵　(tamago, eggs).

When you don't feel like having what they recommended to you, you can say like this:

他はありますか。　Hoka wa arimasuka? (Do you have any other suggestions?)

"Hoka" means "other things," and "arimasuka?" is "ｄo you have?"

Enjoy!　

useful Japanese expressions 4: Kekko desu (No thank you)

Hi everyone!

I sometimes think Japan is not a very eco-friendly country. When you buy a sweater at a department store, for example, they nicely wrap it with thin delicate paper, then put in a white plastic bag, and finally put it in a paper bag with the logo of the store printed.

That would be OK if it's a gift for someone. But if you buy it for yourself, you will probably throw away all those wrapping materials once you arrive home. What a waste!

At many supermarkets as well, they automatically give you plastic bags, so if you have your own shopping bags or you simply don't need them, please say:  けっこうです。　Kekko desu. = No thank you.

To specify what you don't need you can say as follows:
袋は　けっこうです。　Fukuro wa kekko desu = I don't need a bag, thank you.
はしは　けっこうです。　Hashi wa kekko desu = I don't need chopsticks. 
スプーンは　けっこうです。　Supu-n wa kekko desu. = I don't need spoons.  

At some supermarkets started to charge customers 2-10 yen for a single-use plastic bag. At those places they may ask you: 袋はお持ちですか。　Fukuro wa omochi desuka. = Do you have your own bag? 

If you want one, please say: いいえ、一枚お願いします。　Iie, ichimai onegai shimasu.  = No, can I have one?  


By the way, the single-use plastic grocery bags are commonly called レジ袋（reｊi bukuro), because you can get those bags at the register. (＝reji) 

Useful Japanese expressions 3： ijo desu (that's all)

Hi everyone! 

Imagine you are at an izakaya (dining bar), where you usually share all the dishes with everyone else in your party. (Don't worry, we don't share drinks!) You probably have to order at least four or five platters for a small group of two or three people, depending on your appetite. If you come in a big group, your order list surely gets long.

Ａt many chain izakaya they have menus full of photos, so you can order pointing at the pictures,

「これと、これと、これと、これ　ください」　( Kore to kore to kore to kore kudasai) = We'd like to have this, this, this and this, please.

If you suddenly notice your 生ビール（nama bi-ru, or draft beer) jog is already empty, you can say:

「それから、生ビール、もう一杯　お願いします」　(Sorekara, nama bi-ru mo ippai onegaishimasu) = And, I'll have another beer, please) 

Then, please finish your order with this phrase:

「以上です」　(ijo desu) = That's all.

Otherwise, your waiter would not  know whether he can leave right away or should stay for your new order.

This sentence is very useful and can be used everywhere. At the airport customs, you might be asked,「申告するものはありますか」 (shinkoku suru mono wa arimasuka?) =Anything to declare?

If you do, please declare. If they ask you 「他にありますか」　(hoka ni arimasuka?) = anything else?, you can simply answer "ijo desu."

As of Japanese izakaya, it is basically the place alcohol beverages are served, but they have soft drinks for non-drinkers. Since any izakaya has a wide variety of food, some people even bring  their small children to have meals, though it is not recommended.

Useful Japanese expressions ②： o-kaikei onegaishimasu (check please!)

OK, suppose you are at a restaurant. You finish the meal and want to leave, but no one brings you the check. What should you do?

The first thing you should do is find a waiter/waitress and raise your hand. If you fail to get their attention, you can call them out "Sumimasen! (excuse me!)." Don't be shy. Many people from the "Western world" says making a loud shout to call a waiter is bad manners, but don't worry, it is quite normal here. I do too, not too loud though.

When the waiter comes, let's ask for the bill. The phrase for that is...

お会計、お願いします。　O-kaikei onegaishimasu.  (May I have the check please?)

Kaikei is "check" and o is an honorific suffix. Onegaishimasu means "please."

Onegaishimasu is such a convenient expression when you order food or ask for service. For example,

ハンバーガー　お願いします。　Hamba-ga- onegaishimasu.　(One hamburger, please.)
お茶　お願いします。　　Ocha onegaishimasu.  (Can I have some tea please?)
東京駅まで　お願いします。　Tokyo eki made onegaishimasu. (To Tokyo Station, please)

When you leave the restaurant,  let's say to the restaurant people:

ごちそう様でした。　Gochiso-sama deshita. （Thank you for the meal.) 

We use this phrase at home too, after every meal to thank the person who cooked.

Useful Japanese expressions ①： Kore kudasai

As everyone knows, whether you can enjoy the life in a foreign country depends on your communication skills.

If you live here, learning Japanese is definitely important, because I'm sorry to say this but Japanese are internationally known for being bad at English and it is unfortunately true. Even if you are just a tourist, knowing some Japanese words and expressions will help you a lot during your visit.

Japanese are basically shy but interested in communicating with foreigners. Trust me, that's true! Some foreign people complain that Japan is xenophobic. If they really think so, I have to say I'm sorry because they have had some bad experiences, but the truth is many Japanese (especially those living in the countryside) have never interacted with non-Japanese and don't know what to do when they are spoken to in English or some foreign languages. They just feel tense. If you speak even a little bit of Japanese, they will smile at you. Do you feel like learning Japanese now?

So...today's useful expression is

これ　ください。　（Kore kudasai.）

I was living in Paris for three years for my husband's work, but when I arrived there I could not even count numbers in French. For the first several months my husband and I survived with only three phrases  "ça s'il vous plait (This one please)" "C'est tout (that's all)." and  "Je prends ... (I'll have...)"

Kore means "this,"  and kudasai means "geve me." Wherever you are --- at a restaurant, a cafe or a shop --- you only have to say "Kore kudasai" pointing at whatever you want. 

You can replace kore with different nouns, such as 水　(mizu, water) and メニュー　（menyu, nemu).

水　ください　　Mizu kudasai (water, please)
メニュー　ください　　Menyu kudasai (menu please)  
コーヒー　ください　　Kohi kudasai (coffee please)