September 2, 2025 • 23 mins
Learn Japanese for Travel! Here's a basic intro to the language and culture in Japan!
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Ready for your Japanese adventure? Before you pack your bags, let's talk about something crucial that most travelers overlook—understanding Japanese culture as the foundation for learning the language.
Our special guest Rahel, who is half-Swiss and half-Japanese, shares invaluable insights from her bicultural perspective. She explains that at the heart of Japanese society lies a deep commitment to community awareness: "Everything is about understanding that my actions, my words will have an effect on the people." This mindset shapes every social interaction, including how language is used.
One fascinating revelation is how Japanese people rarely say a direct "no." Instead, they might respond with "at this point, it might not be a good time for this"—a polite buffer that communicates refusal without confrontation. For travelers accustomed to direct communication, recognizing these cultural nuances prevents misunderstandings and demonstrates respect.
Rahel guides us through essential phrases like "konnichiwa" (hello), "arigatou gozaimasu" (thank you), "sumimasen" (excuse me/sorry), and "onegaishimasu" (please). Beyond just memorizing words, she emphasizes pronunciation and context, explaining which phrases are appropriate in different situations. Need to find a bathroom or train station? Learn to ask "doko desu ka?" (where is?) after naming what you're looking for.
The most powerful takeaway? Japanese people watch visitors closely, looking for intention rather than perfection. They understand when tourists make mistakes but deeply appreciate those who show genuine respect for their culture. By learning even a few phrases and approaching Japan with cultural awareness, you'll transform from just another tourist to a welcomed visitor.
Have you started learning phrases for your next international adventure? Share your language learning tips and follow along as we continue our language series around the world!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This transcript has not be read or edited by our
team.
Hi, I'm Alexa and I'm Rory,and together we are The ROAMies
We are married To each other,right?
Speaker 2 (00:09):
We are a touring musical duo.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
And our music has taken us to all kinds of places
all around the world and keepsus always on the go.
So we hope you enjoy ourstories and adventures while
running around working to keepall your plates spinning, and we
hope to facilitate your busylifestyle and feed your inner
travel bug.
Hi everyone, we are so excitedto be launching a series on
(00:36):
languages.
We want to give you some justbasic tips so you can go into a
foreign country, foreign to youcountry, and at least not be
completely rude, right, Like no,some of like the hello and the
how are you or whatever thegreetings are and all that stuff
.
So we are launching.
I am so ready to get to Japanbecause we still have not gone.
(00:59):
We've talked about this beforeand so we are so excited to have
Rahel with us today and she ispart.
We are actually in Switzerland.
We're at a little cafe outsideand it's super cool out here, so
you might hear some road noiseor some cafe noise.
We're just keeping it becausewe're on the road and we're
traveling.
So you're traveling with us.
But it's so fun because Rahelis half Swiss, half Japanese,
(01:23):
and so it's really, really fun.
She's lived in Japan for quitea long time and most of her life
, and so what is really cool isthe premise of learning Japanese
is you're going to, like youcan't separate language and
culture, right, and so she justfelt it was really important
before before we dive into likeactual, like this is how you
(01:44):
pronounce the word hello Maybethere are a few cultural things
we should be aware of as we diveinto the language.
Well, they frame the entirelanguage, so it's important to
know these cultural things sothe language can be used
properly.
So, as we go through thisseries, you might learn excuse
me in one language, but youmight not need it so much in a
different one.
So, rahel, thank you so muchfor helping us like, appreciate
(02:08):
and understand the Japaneseculture a little bit better, so
that when we go visit, we're notgoing to be completely clueless
tourists, but we're going tohave, just like this basic
premise to get us going.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, thanks for having me on.
Yeah, I was trying to think ofwhat to start with, but I think
the one of the biggestdifferences, depending on where
you come from, is probably theunderstanding that everything in
Japan is about community.
Everything is about theunderstanding that my actions,
my words will have an effect onthe people, and so you are
(02:41):
trying to keep that as positiveas possible, and so it goes
through everything in theirbehavior, in the way that they
talk to one another.
It is about how do I not offend, how do I not make anybody
uncomfortable, how can I keepthe peace within the community
within the group and so thatwill that understanding will
help with when you try tointrepret, I guess the actions
of the other Japanese around you, but also when you think about
(03:10):
how do I want to act in aspecific situation.
Hopefully that will help youget an understanding of what
will be something that theJapanese will appreciate about
you or something that they willbe annoyed by you, which is not
going to be helpful.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Well, and we had like maybe some proposed words that
maybe you could consider sharing, and one of the words that
really doesn't make sense toshare is the word no, and so
that could be maybe offensive tosomeone, so you know.
So just kind of like throwingthat in there.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
So just kind of like throwing that in there.
Yeah, I think we don't usuallyjust say no, we don't do it.
We like to sort of buffer it bysaying, oh, at this point it
might not be a good time forthis.
And sometimes you have theseconversations where, yeah, the
Japanese is trying to politelydecline, and then you have the
(04:06):
other person saying, well, ifnow is not a good time, when is?
And so that brings you know aJapanese person into a real
pickle because they're trying topolitely say no, this is not
happening, we cannot do this.
And the other person is tryingto follow up on it and trying to
figure out.
Ok, when can we and?
Speaker 1 (04:19):
so those are things that Can you just say no.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Can you just say no, just say no I don't know, can't
do it Exactly, and so, yeah, wedon't usually say just no, so we
will describe how it's adifficult task or how it's not,
yeah, a good time or anythinglike that.
So I guess teaching you how tosay no is more important rather
(04:44):
than how to say no as the wordno I would say yeah, that's
great.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
So what else should we know before we dive into our
little language lesson here?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
I think sometimes what I've observed being in
Japan and observing a lot ofdifferent tourists as well I
think sometimes people forgetthat they are going to a place
where people actually live,where people actually work,
rather than just being the themepark for you, where you get to
discover stuff.
I have seen this so many timeswhen people just walk into
(05:19):
places or they walk into temples, they walk into businesses and
think they just are free to takepictures, they can do
everything, they just try stuff,they touch things, and
oftentimes I think there's justa lack of awareness that it's
actually like in a temple, forexample, you don't go in there
and munch on stuff, you don'thave drinks.
(05:41):
You know it's a sacred placefor people in Japan, and so to
really show the respect thatthey have for that place and
understand where it is thatyou're going, I think that is a
very crucial topic for a lot ofthe things and people that I
have seen and observed in Japan,and because the Japanese are
very non-confrontational, theywill often not actually tell you
(06:03):
that they don't like you doingthat, but just be aware that
people are going to be annoyed.
They might even smile at you,but they'll still be annoyed and
they'll still.
You'll leave a bad taste intheir mouth.
And so if we can just try to bemore aware of the fact that,
yeah, it is people's businesses,it's people's lives, it's
people's livelihoods, it's youknow, it's sacred places that
(06:25):
you are entering in, I thinkthat would go a long way and I
know a lot of people have, youknow, this fear of potentially
offending somebody.
But I think the Japanese peopleare, in general, people that
watch you very closely and willlook for your intention.
And if they see the intentionand you are being, you're trying
(06:46):
at least to be accommodating,you're trying to be respectful,
that will go a long way.
Rather than you always makingthe right step, you know you
might sometimes step in it, butif it is accidental and they
know that you're trying to berespectful of their culture,
that already goes a long way.
So just be aware, people arewatching and they may not say
(07:09):
things flat into your face, butthey will have their thoughts.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
And so if you're wanting to represent your
country and your culture as well, very well then yeah, just be
aware of those things I'd say,that's good, and I think that's
one reason learning the languageto me, that is such a way that,
in wherever you travel, thatyou're showing respect by at
least trying to learn thelanguage.
(07:32):
Maybe you can't say everythingcorrectly and that's what you're
going to help us with, but thefact that you're trying, I think
with any culture, any culturewould appreciate that.
So just the language alone isone good way to make that
initial step.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I think, with the whole, being aware and being
respectful.
Yeah, I think choosing even ifit's a few words to say in their
language really shows them thatyou acknowledge, first of all,
that you're not in your owncountry, that you cannot expect
everything to be and functionand work the same way as in your
country.
And so I think, yeah, and youdon't show them that you expect
them to speak your languagerather than you, being a guest
(08:12):
in their country, you know,really, at least put some effort
into being able to speak theirlanguage and speak something
that they would understand, thatthey don't have to think stuff
through, right, yeah, cool, sowhat would some of those things
be?
So in Japan, it's veryimportant the greetings to greet
(08:34):
one another well is important,and so I thought starting with
the word hello is always a goodplace, and so I know a lot of
people sort of have heard thisword before and they say it.
The intonation, I think, is alittle different usually from
what I hear, but we would saykonnichiwa, and so this means
(08:59):
hello.
You can pretty much say itthroughout the day.
Technically, we do have, youknow, good mornings and good
evening and all of these things,but I don't know if that is so,
so vital at this point.
So even if you can just saykonnichiwa, then that'll be a
good start.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Can you say it slow?
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Konnichiwa, nice, all right
Yeah, I think in any language um being able to thank
people correctly is veryimportant.
Now I do have to say in japanwe have very different levels of
politeness in our language, sothe shorter it is usually the
less polite it is.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
So I'm going to go with the middle ground.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
To not be completely rude, but also not to be too
casual, but still polite.
So, thank you.
We would say arigato gozaimasu.
And again, if it's more casual,if you're just with friends,
arigato would technically do,but if you're wanting to be a
little bit more polite, then youwould want to say arigato
(10:03):
gozaimasu Really slow, arigatogozaimasu.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Can you say it even slower, because that was a fast
slow to me, okay.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Arigato gozaimasu.
Was that good?
That's very helpful.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Yes, okay, and then now say it normal again.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Arigato gozaimasu.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Great, All right.
Now all of y'all are repeatingthat, practicing that right Okay
?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Or to say excuse me if you're trying to get
somebody's attention in arestaurant, or yeah, if you're
walking down the street, oryou're also saying excuse me
because you bumped into somebody, for example, you would say
sumimasen, and that means excuseme, sorry, kind of that
(10:54):
direction.
One more time, sumimasen, Soundgood so far.
Sound good so far.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Awesome.
Okay, we've got our threephrases.
Got some more for us, right?
Speaker 2 (11:09):
I thought maybe to ask, to say please.
Sometimes the word please ismaybe not used in the same
sentence structure as we thinkof maybe in English, but when
you, for example, you couldactually say this as well, like
if you're trying to getsomebody's attention at a
restaurant, or if you're justyou're taking something to the
register and you're trying topay for it, for example, you can
(11:31):
say おねがいします。, おねがいします。 and this, yeah, if you're saying
something, something おねがいします,it's just a phrase that you use
to ask for something.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
So it's kind of like please.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
So if I'm in a grocery store let's say I go to
the register I want to buyanything then when I place it on
the counter I can say that wordto the clerk Right.
They'll know they will knowyeah, I mean usually they will.
Just you know, obviously if yougo to the cashier, then it's
pretty self-explanatory.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
We can point to the picture or the word in the menu
Right.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
And say and then they'll understand, and that'll
be a very polite way of askingplease can I have this?
Speaker 1 (12:25):
All right great.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yes, now, sometimes you are probably looking for
things whether it's the bathroom, whether it's the train station
, whatever it is, and so thenyou would have to use the word
train station, for example,which is eki, so you can say eki
doko desu ka.
And doko desu ka is asking forwhere it is, so you have to use
(12:51):
the word something, something,train station eki doko desu ka.
So first the word of the thingyou're looking for Exactly,
exactly, okay, so pleasepronounce those slowly.
Eki is the train station anddoko desu ka is where is.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
And again slow.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Eki doko desu ka, doko desu ka.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Okay.
So then if we want to know, Iwould be asking for the toilets,
so how would we say that?
And then I usually want somewater to drink, like is there a
water fountain?
So are there something that wecan use for those two things
Like water or toilet?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
So water?
If you go into a Japaneserestaurant, most likely they'll
just serve you water or tearight off the bat and oftentimes
also with a hot towel or a cooltowel depending on the season.
So you shouldn't have to asknecessarily separately, unless
you just want more.
So water would be omizu.
Omizu is water, so you wouldn'twant a water fountain if you're
(13:59):
walking over.
That's not something that wewould have a whole lot of water
fountains, although I do have tosay I think in some tourist
areas this year, especiallyhaving so many tourists but also
having a very, very hot summer,there have been a few fountains
established.
But in general people will tendto just buy at the convenience
(14:23):
store, for example, or at asupermarket.
You'll just bring your ownwater bottle.
Exactly, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
But okay, so can you say water again お水 is water.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Okay, toilets, technically, if you say toilet,
they will understand.
However, there is a nicer, amore beautiful word, I guess, if
you want, where you say,,otearai and that is a more
polite way of saying bathroom.
(14:54):
So I guess it's similar torestroom versus bathroom or
toilet.
Yeah, so the nicer way ofsaying it would be otearai,
otearai.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
So if we want to say where is the restroom, you would
say otearai doko desu ka, whichthen slowly would be otearai
doko desu ka.
So that's where is the bathroomand then where is water, if
(15:31):
you're mostly buying water.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
You would probably ask for where can I buy water
would be probably the morelikely scenario that you would
need, and then they'll just.
You might as well just ask forwhere is the closest convenience
store or whatever, and I thinkpeople have come Store where is?
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
But then, yeah, I think most convenience stores we
have so many in Japan,especially when you're in the
city area Family Mart, 7-eleven,you know, mini Stop, all sorts
of Lawsons they're very, verypopular and yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
If you look around, you'll see one.
Yes, we also have.
So you could say 7-Eleven,where is?
Speaker 2 (16:11):
7-Eleven doko desu ka , doko desu ka.
Yeah, the doko desu ka you canuse behind anything that you're
really looking for.
And, yeah, that would be thequestion to ask that's great,
all right.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
Does that get us going, or do you have any other
words or things you think youwant to share?
Speaker 2 (16:33):
I think that should be good enough for to be able to
say hello, to be able to thankpeople, to apologize to people
and to get the attentioncorrectly, and then also just
knowing where you can find what.
I think that's a good basicthing.
I noticed a lot of people useGoogle Translate.
A lot of the stores havestarted having, like these,
(16:56):
pocket talk devices that willtranslate for you.
So, yeah, we're trying to findways of communicating with
people, I think.
What?
Maybe one word to the Japaneseand their English.
I've heard people being upsetabout the lack of English
speakers in Japan sometimes andI'm just like well, they live in
(17:17):
Japan.
But also because in Japaneselife we just really, really
don't use English as much.
If you are not anywhere in theindustry or if you're not
constantly, you know in that youjust don't need English as much
as you would probably hear oruse it, for example, being here
in Switzerland, you know.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
You're on an island.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Yeah, right, it is separate from the rest.
So hello, you're on an island.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Yeah, All right, well , do you mind, just give us a
quick review of what we learned,real quick, and we will wrap it
up.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Okay, so I'm going to start from the top with hello.
It'll be konnichiwa konnichiwa.
Then thank you.
Arigatou gozaimasu.
Arigatou gozaimasu.
Then I think we had excuse mesumimasen, sumimasen.
(18:13):
Then I think we had excuse me,すみません。 and please おねがいします。.
Then, where is どこですか?
(18:33):
I hope this helps.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
It super helps, thank you so much.
Okay, rory, this is our nextstep in getting ready to go to
Japan, learning these words Yep,learning these words.
Now we got to book our ticketsand get on over there.
Thank you so much, rahal.
We really appreciate theinsight into the culture and the
language so that we can go andenjoy ourselves but also be
(19:01):
respectful of the people we'revisiting.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Yeah, who'd have thought we could have done it in
Switzerland.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
I love it, love it.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Love it.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
It's a small world.
We hope we've inspired you thisepisode, so join us next time.
Please subscribe to rate andshare our podcast with your
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Speaker 2 (19:24):
We are also on X and on all social platforms.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
We are at The ROAMies , that's T-H-E-R-O-A-M-I-E-S,
and our main hub is our websiteAt www.
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com, that's right, that's.
T-h-e-r-o-a-m-i-e-s.
com.
We'll be there until next time.
Yeah, thanks for listening.
No-transcript.
This transcript has not be read or edited by our
team.
Hi, I'm Alexa and I'm Rory,and together we are The ROAMies
We are married To each other,right?
Speaker 2 (00:09):
We are a touring musical duo.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
And our music has taken us to all kinds of places
all around the world and keepsus always on the go.
So we hope you enjoy ourstories and adventures while
running around working to keepall your plates spinning, and we
hope to facilitate your busylifestyle and feed your inner
travel bug.
Hi everyone, we are so excitedto be launching a series on
(00:36):
languages.
We want to give you some justbasic tips so you can go into a
foreign country, foreign to youcountry, and at least not be
completely rude, right, Like no,some of like the hello and the
how are you or whatever thegreetings are and all that stuff
.
So we are launching.
I am so ready to get to Japanbecause we still have not gone.
(00:59):
We've talked about this beforeand so we are so excited to have
Rahel with us today and she ispart.
We are actually in Switzerland.
We're at a little cafe outsideand it's super cool out here, so
you might hear some road noiseor some cafe noise.
We're just keeping it becausewe're on the road and we're
traveling.
So you're traveling with us.
But it's so fun because Rahelis half Swiss, half Japanese,
(01:23):
and so it's really, really fun.
She's lived in Japan for quitea long time and most of her life
, and so what is really cool isthe premise of learning Japanese
is you're going to, like youcan't separate language and
culture, right, and so she justfelt it was really important
before before we dive into likeactual, like this is how you
(01:44):
pronounce the word hello Maybethere are a few cultural things
we should be aware of as we diveinto the language.
Well, they frame the entirelanguage, so it's important to
know these cultural things sothe language can be used
properly.
So, as we go through thisseries, you might learn excuse
me in one language, but youmight not need it so much in a
different one.
So, rahel, thank you so muchfor helping us like, appreciate
(02:08):
and understand the Japaneseculture a little bit better, so
that when we go visit, we're notgoing to be completely clueless
tourists, but we're going tohave, just like this basic
premise to get us going.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, thanks for having me on.
Yeah, I was trying to think ofwhat to start with, but I think
the one of the biggestdifferences, depending on where
you come from, is probably theunderstanding that everything in
Japan is about community.
Everything is about theunderstanding that my actions,
my words will have an effect onthe people, and so you are
(02:41):
trying to keep that as positiveas possible, and so it goes
through everything in theirbehavior, in the way that they
talk to one another.
It is about how do I not offend, how do I not make anybody
uncomfortable, how can I keepthe peace within the community
within the group and so thatwill that understanding will
help with when you try tointrepret, I guess the actions
of the other Japanese around you, but also when you think about
(03:10):
how do I want to act in aspecific situation.
Hopefully that will help youget an understanding of what
will be something that theJapanese will appreciate about
you or something that they willbe annoyed by you, which is not
going to be helpful.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Well, and we had like maybe some proposed words that
maybe you could consider sharing, and one of the words that
really doesn't make sense toshare is the word no, and so
that could be maybe offensive tosomeone, so you know.
So just kind of like throwingthat in there.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
So just kind of like throwing that in there.
Yeah, I think we don't usuallyjust say no, we don't do it.
We like to sort of buffer it bysaying, oh, at this point it
might not be a good time forthis.
And sometimes you have theseconversations where, yeah, the
Japanese is trying to politelydecline, and then you have the
(04:06):
other person saying, well, ifnow is not a good time, when is?
And so that brings you know aJapanese person into a real
pickle because they're trying topolitely say no, this is not
happening, we cannot do this.
And the other person is tryingto follow up on it and trying to
figure out.
Ok, when can we and?
Speaker 1 (04:19):
so those are things that Can you just say no.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Can you just say no, just say no I don't know, can't
do it Exactly, and so, yeah, wedon't usually say just no, so we
will describe how it's adifficult task or how it's not,
yeah, a good time or anythinglike that.
So I guess teaching you how tosay no is more important rather
(04:44):
than how to say no as the wordno I would say yeah, that's
great.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
So what else should we know before we dive into our
little language lesson here?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
I think sometimes what I've observed being in
Japan and observing a lot ofdifferent tourists as well I
think sometimes people forgetthat they are going to a place
where people actually live,where people actually work,
rather than just being the themepark for you, where you get to
discover stuff.
I have seen this so many timeswhen people just walk into
(05:19):
places or they walk into temples, they walk into businesses and
think they just are free to takepictures, they can do
everything, they just try stuff,they touch things, and
oftentimes I think there's justa lack of awareness that it's
actually like in a temple, forexample, you don't go in there
and munch on stuff, you don'thave drinks.
(05:41):
You know it's a sacred placefor people in Japan, and so to
really show the respect thatthey have for that place and
understand where it is thatyou're going, I think that is a
very crucial topic for a lot ofthe things and people that I
have seen and observed in Japan,and because the Japanese are
very non-confrontational, theywill often not actually tell you
(06:03):
that they don't like you doingthat, but just be aware that
people are going to be annoyed.
They might even smile at you,but they'll still be annoyed and
they'll still.
You'll leave a bad taste intheir mouth.
And so if we can just try to bemore aware of the fact that,
yeah, it is people's businesses,it's people's lives, it's
people's livelihoods, it's youknow, it's sacred places that
(06:25):
you are entering in, I thinkthat would go a long way and I
know a lot of people have, youknow, this fear of potentially
offending somebody.
But I think the Japanese peopleare, in general, people that
watch you very closely and willlook for your intention.
And if they see the intentionand you are being, you're trying
(06:46):
at least to be accommodating,you're trying to be respectful,
that will go a long way.
Rather than you always makingthe right step, you know you
might sometimes step in it, butif it is accidental and they
know that you're trying to berespectful of their culture,
that already goes a long way.
So just be aware, people arewatching and they may not say
(07:09):
things flat into your face, butthey will have their thoughts.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
And so if you're wanting to represent your
country and your culture as well, very well then yeah, just be
aware of those things I'd say,that's good, and I think that's
one reason learning the languageto me, that is such a way that,
in wherever you travel, thatyou're showing respect by at
least trying to learn thelanguage.
(07:32):
Maybe you can't say everythingcorrectly and that's what you're
going to help us with, but thefact that you're trying, I think
with any culture, any culturewould appreciate that.
So just the language alone isone good way to make that
initial step.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I think, with the whole, being aware and being
respectful.
Yeah, I think choosing even ifit's a few words to say in their
language really shows them thatyou acknowledge, first of all,
that you're not in your owncountry, that you cannot expect
everything to be and functionand work the same way as in your
country.
And so I think, yeah, and youdon't show them that you expect
them to speak your languagerather than you, being a guest
(08:12):
in their country, you know,really, at least put some effort
into being able to speak theirlanguage and speak something
that they would understand, thatthey don't have to think stuff
through, right, yeah, cool, sowhat would some of those things
be?
So in Japan, it's veryimportant the greetings to greet
(08:34):
one another well is important,and so I thought starting with
the word hello is always a goodplace, and so I know a lot of
people sort of have heard thisword before and they say it.
The intonation, I think, is alittle different usually from
what I hear, but we would saykonnichiwa, and so this means
(08:59):
hello.
You can pretty much say itthroughout the day.
Technically, we do have, youknow, good mornings and good
evening and all of these things,but I don't know if that is so,
so vital at this point.
So even if you can just saykonnichiwa, then that'll be a
good start.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Can you say it slow?
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Konnichiwa, nice, all right
Yeah, I think in any language um being able to thank
people correctly is veryimportant.
Now I do have to say in japanwe have very different levels of
politeness in our language, sothe shorter it is usually the
less polite it is.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
So I'm going to go with the middle ground.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
To not be completely rude, but also not to be too
casual, but still polite.
So, thank you.
We would say arigato gozaimasu.
And again, if it's more casual,if you're just with friends,
arigato would technically do,but if you're wanting to be a
little bit more polite, then youwould want to say arigato
(10:03):
gozaimasu Really slow, arigatogozaimasu.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Can you say it even slower, because that was a fast
slow to me, okay.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Arigato gozaimasu.
Was that good?
That's very helpful.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Yes, okay, and then now say it normal again.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Arigato gozaimasu.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Great, All right.
Now all of y'all are repeatingthat, practicing that right Okay
?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Or to say excuse me if you're trying to get
somebody's attention in arestaurant, or yeah, if you're
walking down the street, oryou're also saying excuse me
because you bumped into somebody, for example, you would say
sumimasen, and that means excuseme, sorry, kind of that
(10:54):
direction.
One more time, sumimasen, Soundgood so far.
Sound good so far.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Awesome.
Okay, we've got our threephrases.
Got some more for us, right?
Speaker 2 (11:09):
I thought maybe to ask, to say please.
Sometimes the word please ismaybe not used in the same
sentence structure as we thinkof maybe in English, but when
you, for example, you couldactually say this as well, like
if you're trying to getsomebody's attention at a
restaurant, or if you're justyou're taking something to the
register and you're trying topay for it, for example, you can
(11:31):
say おねがいします。, おねがいします。 and this, yeah, if you're saying
something, something おねがいします,it's just a phrase that you use
to ask for something.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
So it's kind of like please.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
So if I'm in a grocery store let's say I go to
the register I want to buyanything then when I place it on
the counter I can say that wordto the clerk Right.
They'll know they will knowyeah, I mean usually they will.
Just you know, obviously if yougo to the cashier, then it's
pretty self-explanatory.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
We can point to the picture or the word in the menu
Right.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
And say and then they'll understand, and that'll
be a very polite way of askingplease can I have this?
Speaker 1 (12:25):
All right great.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yes, now, sometimes you are probably looking for
things whether it's the bathroom, whether it's the train station
, whatever it is, and so thenyou would have to use the word
train station, for example,which is eki, so you can say eki
doko desu ka.
And doko desu ka is asking forwhere it is, so you have to use
(12:51):
the word something, something,train station eki doko desu ka.
So first the word of the thingyou're looking for Exactly,
exactly, okay, so pleasepronounce those slowly.
Eki is the train station anddoko desu ka is where is.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
And again slow.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Eki doko desu ka, doko desu ka.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Okay.
So then if we want to know, Iwould be asking for the toilets,
so how would we say that?
And then I usually want somewater to drink, like is there a
water fountain?
So are there something that wecan use for those two things
Like water or toilet?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
So water?
If you go into a Japaneserestaurant, most likely they'll
just serve you water or tearight off the bat and oftentimes
also with a hot towel or a cooltowel depending on the season.
So you shouldn't have to asknecessarily separately, unless
you just want more.
So water would be omizu.
Omizu is water, so you wouldn'twant a water fountain if you're
(13:59):
walking over.
That's not something that wewould have a whole lot of water
fountains, although I do have tosay I think in some tourist
areas this year, especiallyhaving so many tourists but also
having a very, very hot summer,there have been a few fountains
established.
But in general people will tendto just buy at the convenience
(14:23):
store, for example, or at asupermarket.
You'll just bring your ownwater bottle.
Exactly, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
But okay, so can you say water again お水 is water.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Okay, toilets, technically, if you say toilet,
they will understand.
However, there is a nicer, amore beautiful word, I guess, if
you want, where you say,,otearai and that is a more
polite way of saying bathroom.
(14:54):
So I guess it's similar torestroom versus bathroom or
toilet.
Yeah, so the nicer way ofsaying it would be otearai,
otearai.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
So if we want to say where is the restroom, you would
say otearai doko desu ka, whichthen slowly would be otearai
doko desu ka.
So that's where is the bathroomand then where is water, if
(15:31):
you're mostly buying water.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
You would probably ask for where can I buy water
would be probably the morelikely scenario that you would
need, and then they'll just.
You might as well just ask forwhere is the closest convenience
store or whatever, and I thinkpeople have come Store where is?
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
But then, yeah, I think most convenience stores we
have so many in Japan,especially when you're in the
city area Family Mart, 7-eleven,you know, mini Stop, all sorts
of Lawsons they're very, verypopular and yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
If you look around, you'll see one.
Yes, we also have.
So you could say 7-Eleven,where is?
Speaker 2 (16:11):
7-Eleven doko desu ka , doko desu ka.
Yeah, the doko desu ka you canuse behind anything that you're
really looking for.
And, yeah, that would be thequestion to ask that's great,
all right.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
Does that get us going, or do you have any other
words or things you think youwant to share?
Speaker 2 (16:33):
I think that should be good enough for to be able to
say hello, to be able to thankpeople, to apologize to people
and to get the attentioncorrectly, and then also just
knowing where you can find what.
I think that's a good basicthing.
I noticed a lot of people useGoogle Translate.
A lot of the stores havestarted having, like these,
(16:56):
pocket talk devices that willtranslate for you.
So, yeah, we're trying to findways of communicating with
people, I think.
What?
Maybe one word to the Japaneseand their English.
I've heard people being upsetabout the lack of English
speakers in Japan sometimes andI'm just like well, they live in
(17:17):
Japan.
But also because in Japaneselife we just really, really
don't use English as much.
If you are not anywhere in theindustry or if you're not
constantly, you know in that youjust don't need English as much
as you would probably hear oruse it, for example, being here
in Switzerland, you know.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
You're on an island.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Yeah, right, it is separate from the rest.
So hello, you're on an island.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Yeah, All right, well , do you mind, just give us a
quick review of what we learned,real quick, and we will wrap it
up.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Okay, so I'm going to start from the top with hello.
It'll be konnichiwa konnichiwa.
Then thank you.
Arigatou gozaimasu.
Arigatou gozaimasu.
Then I think we had excuse mesumimasen, sumimasen.
(18:13):
Then I think we had excuse me,すみません。 and please おねがいします。.
Then, where is どこですか?
(18:33):
I hope this helps.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
It super helps, thank you so much.
Okay, rory, this is our nextstep in getting ready to go to
Japan, learning these words Yep,learning these words.
Now we got to book our ticketsand get on over there.
Thank you so much, rahal.
We really appreciate theinsight into the culture and the
language so that we can go andenjoy ourselves but also be
(19:01):
respectful of the people we'revisiting.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Yeah, who'd have thought we could have done it in
Switzerland.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
I love it, love it.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Love it.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
It's a small world.
We hope we've inspired you thisepisode, so join us next time.
Please subscribe to rate andshare our podcast with your
friends or you know whomever,and please like and follow us on
Instagram, youtube and Facebook.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
We are also on X and on all social platforms.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
We are at The ROAMies , that's T-H-E-R-O-A-M-I-E-S,
and our main hub is our websiteAt www.
theromies.
com, that's right, that's.
T-h-e-r-o-a-m-i-e-s.
com.
We'll be there until next time.
Yeah, thanks for listening.
No-transcript.
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