Alec in Japan

Whether you’re holidaying in Japan or working in Japan, you’ll need to know the phrases they use in shops and restaurants. Either you need to know how to say them, or you need to understand what they mean! In this entry I’m going to introduce you to the most common phrases used in stores and restaurants which I’ve had to learn for my working holiday.

“Irasshaimase”　「いらっしゃいませ」
This welcome is what’s shouted at any place of business in Japan. Upon entering any store, restaurant, brothel or bar, the staff will immediately scare the crap out of you by shouting this. You get two types of staff using this; either the conscientious staff who keep an eye on the door and shout it, or the type who just shout it randomly at 45-second intervals. The latter do exist; I don’t know if they do it because they can’t be bothered to watch the door or if they’re trying to make the store look busy to passerbys/customers.

“Okaikei wa __en ni narimasu”　「お会計は＿円になります」
Used by workers when adding up the bill, this phrase means “your bill comes to __ yen”. Notice the use of ni narimasu instead of desu at the end. Ni narimasu is more formal and literally means “becomes”. The phrase “Your bill becomes 3500 yen” really means “Gosh, your bill turns out to be 3500 yen. I had no idea! All I am is a humble shop assistant who cannot predict bills and such things. Please don’t hurt me!” Basically, by using ni narimasu you’re expressing the idea that you’re just a humble shop assistant with little idea of what the bill might come to.

“__en wo azukari itashimasu”　「＿円を預かりいたします」
When shop assistants receive a customer’s money, they say “I’m receiving 5000 yen”. I don’t know why. I suppose it’s kind of a way of boasting to other shop assistants. (”Hey Noriko, I’m receiving 5000 yen. How much you receiving? Hah! Looooooser!”) Notice the verb structure of azukari itashimasu instead of simply azukarimasu. A way of making a common verb like azukarimasu a bit more humble is to say azukari shimasu. Replacing shimasu with its humble cousing itashimasu takes it that one step further.

“__no okaeshi desu”　「＿円のお返しです」
On giving back the change, shop assistants will say how much change they’re giving back by simply saying “It’s 1500 yen change”. Usually they’ll count out the change for you so you don’t think they’re ripping you off; quite a suspicious bunch them Japanese folk.

“Kashikomarimashita”　「かしこまりました」
Now for a bit of restaurant terminology; kashikomarimashita is what waiters will say after taking an order. It’s a bit like saying “Yes, sir. At once.” At first, it’s perhaps a bit long and hard to remember, but after a while it just rolls of the tongue when your friend asks you to get him a glass of water at dinner. (^_-)

“Go-riyou itadaki arigatou gozaimasu”　「ご利用頂きありがとうございます」
After a customer visits a restaurant or perhaps a massage parlour or other service, store assistants might say this phrase. It means “Thank you for using our services” and is a somewhat interesting example of formal Japanese. Riyou means “usage” and adding go makes it more formal and respectful, just as adding “o” to sushi (o-sushi) makes it more polite. Now to get a bit technical: if the kanji of a word are read with kun-yomi, you can add o; if the kanji are read with on-yomi, you add go. Also, some words almost always have o or go attached out of convention; for example, ocha and omae.

“Otsukaresama”　「お疲れさま」
Otsukaresama is said between co-workers at the end of the day or after particular events in a working day. For example, co-workers might say it to a fellow salaryman after he leaves a business meeting. In English we might say ”good job” but it literally means something like “you must be tired”. It can be made more formal by the addition of desu or deshita.

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This entry was filed under Japanese Language.