Greetings

Greetings are very important in Japanese. Both greeting and parting phrases are called aisatsu. Someone who makes no aisatsu may be seen as cold and dysfunctional. These aren't all the aisatsu out there, but they'll give you a good start.

Good morning. (Hi.)	Ohayou gozaimasu.
Good afternoon. (Hi.)	Konnichi wa.
Good evening. (Hi.)	Konban wa.
Good night. (Said before bedtime.)	Oyasuminasai. (Lit. Have a good rest.)
It's been a long time.	Ohisashiburi desu.
How do you do? (Said when meeting someone for the first time.)	Hajimemashite.
I ask that you treat me kindly. (This is said often when you meet someone for the first time or when you've asked them to do you some favor.)	Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Are you well?	Ogenki desu ka.
Yes, I'm fine.	Hai, genki desu.
Thanks, I’m fine.	O kage sama de.
Goodbye.	Sayounara./Sayonara. (Sayonara is not normally used when leaving one's own home unless one is leaving for a very long time.)
See you.	Dewa mata./Ja mata / Mata ne / Jaa ato de.
See you tomorrow.	Mata ashita.
Let’s meet again.	Mata aimashou.
I'm going but I'll be back. (Said when leaving home.)	Ittekimasu.
Have a good time. See you later. (Response to Ittekimasu.)	Itterasshai.
Take care. (Be careful)	Ki o tsukete.
I'm home.	Tadaima.
Welcome home. (Said in response to 'tadaima.')	Okaerinasai.
I'm sorry for leaving before you. (Said as one leaves the office if leaving before other people.)	Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu.
I have to go (I must take leave of you.	Oitomashimasu.
Thanks for working so hard. (Said to someone who's finished a task or in response to Osaki ni)	Otsukare sama deshita.
Welcome.	Youkoso.
Sorry to bother you. (Said when entering someone's home.)	Ojamashimasu.
Please come in. (Lit. Please come up. Said to someone entering your home.)	Oagari kudasi / Douzo ohairikudasai.

Common Sayings

English	Japanese
I receive. (Said before eating a meal.)	Itadakimasu.
Thank you for the meal. (Said after eating a meal.)	Gochisou sama deshita.
Thank you for helping me.	Osewa sama deshita
Thank you for (jerih payah anda)	Gukuro sama deshita
Do your best.	Ganbatte kudasai.
Are you all right?	Daijoubu desu ka?
I'm all right.	Daijoubu desu.
Here you are. (Offering a favor.)	Douzo.
Please do it. (lit. 'I beg you.') (Requesting a favor.)	Onegai shimasu.
Thank you (very much).	(Doumo) arigatou gozaimasu.
Thanks.	Arigatou./Doumo.
You're welcome.	Douitashimashite.
I don't understand.	Wakarimasen./Wakaranai.
Excuse me. (Getting attention)	Sumimasen.
I'm sorry.	Gomen nasai.
Is that so?	Aa sou desu ka?
That's tough isn't it?	Taihen desu ne.
How unfortunate	Zannen desu ne.
Excuse me. (I am rude. )	Shitsurei shimasu.
I am being rude by leaving before you. (Said when leaving the room before someone, particularly when leaving work before others.)	Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu.
(You've worked hard so) you must be tired. (Said to someone leaving work for home.)	Otsukare sama deshita.
Excuse me. (Said when entering someone's home.)	Ojama shimasu.
Cheers!	Kanpai.
No, that's OK. (Said when refusing something.)	Iie, kekkou desu.
It can't be helped.	Shou ga nai.

Note: Someone once asked me whether Taihen desu ne. and Zannen desu ne. were sarcastic phrases. They aren't sarcastic; rather, they are used to express sympathy.

Sorry

Just as saying a simple 'I'm sorry' will not work in every situation in English, there are many different ways to apologize in Japanese. There are more forms than are listed on this page; this is only an introduction.

sumimasen	I'm sorry. (Excuse me.) - Can be used to get someone's attention.
osuku natte sumimasen	I’m sorry for being late
gomen nasai gomen	Forgive me. (The nasai form is polite.) - Use for apologies or when declining something.
shitsurei shimasu	Please excuse me. (Lit. I'm going to break form.) - Use when entering a room during a meeting (for serving tea etc.) or when looking for something on someone's desk. (If you are intruding on someone's time/space it's good to say this.) - Used by school children as they enter the teachers' room.
shitsurei shimashita	Please excuse me, I was rude. (Lit. I broke form.) - Use when exiting a room. - Used by school children as they exit the teachers' room.
moushiwake arimasen moushiwake gozaimasen	I have no excuse. (The gozaimasen form is more polite.)
ikenai koto o shimashita	I've done something I shouldn't have.
watakushi ga warukatta	I was wrong. (Lit. I was bad.)

Farewell

English	Japanese
Good bye	Sayounara
See you tomorrow	Mata ashita
Say hello to your parents	Goryoushin ni yoroshiku
See you (sampai bertemu lagi)	Mata ome ni kakarimasu
See you	Dewa mata nochi hodo
good bye, later(more informal than sayounara)	dewa mata
see you later (more informal than dewa mata)	Jaa mata

Help!

English	Japanese
Help!	Tasukete!
Fire!	Kaji da!
Call the police!	Keisatsu o yonde!
Get a doctor!	Isha o yonde!
Call an ambulance!	Kyuukyuusha o yonde!
Call the fire department!	Shoubousho o yonde!
Come quickly!	Isoide kite!
Go away!	Atchi e ike!
Give it back!	Kaeshite-kure!
Theif!	Dorobou!
Don't touch me!	Sawaranaide!
I'm lost.	Michi ni mayoimashita.
I'm ill.	Kibun ga suguremasen.
I'm hurt.	Kega shite shimaimashita.
Please help me.	Tasukete kudasai.

In case of an emergency, call 119 for an ambulance (kyuukyuu-sha) or the fire department (shoubou-sho).

Call 110 for the police station (keisatsu).

If you dial 119 for assistance but are unable to speak, tap the receiver twice and leave the phone off the hook and rescue workers will trace the call and come to help you.

Telephone Phrases

It is always difficult to talk on the phone in a language you don't understand well. Don't give up though. Practice will help a lot. Listen very carefully to what the other person says. Talking on the phone in Japanese has an added complication, since there are some formal phrases customarily used in phone conversations. (The Japanese normally talk very politely on the phone unless talking with a friend.)

Telephone Numbers

A telephone number (denwa bango) consists of the three parts, for example, (XX) XXXX-XXXX. The first part is the area code. The second and last part are the person's number. Each number is usually read separately, linking the parts with the particle "no". In telephone numbers 0 is often pronounced as zero, 4 as yon, 7 as nana, and 9 as kyuu (as 0, 4, 7 and 9 each have two different pronunciations). If you do not know the Japanese numbers, click here to learn them. If my phone number were 1234-5678 it would be read "ichi ni san yon no go roku nana hachi." (Remember 'no' takes the place of the dash in the number.)

To ask someone's number you can say Denwa bango wa nan ban desu ka.

Phrases

In Japanese, a lot of set phrases are used when speaking on the phone, especially in business situations. One important phrase is "moshi moshi." It is used by the caller when the person at the other end picks up. Some people say "moshi moshi" to answer the phone, but "hai" is used more often especially in business. (Do not say 'mushi mushi' that means 'bugs, bugs' and sounds rather silly.) Moshi moshi can also be said when you think that the caller cannot hear you or to make sure the caller is still on the line.

Before hanging up the phone it is common to say shitsurei shimasu or shitsurei itashimasu. This indicates that you are about to hang up.

At the Office
Halo, halo!	Moshimoshi!
This is Mr./Ms. Watanabe.	Watanabe to moushimasu.
Is Mr./Ms. Ogura there?	Ogura-san wa irasshaimasu ka.
Could I speak to Mr./Ms. Tanaka?	Tanaka-san o onegaishimasu.
Yes, he/she's in.	Hai, orimasu.
I'm sorry, he's/she's not here at the moment.	Moushiwake arimasen ga, tadaima gaishutsu shite orimasu.
I'd like extension XX please.	Naisen no XX-ban o onegaishimasu.
Just a moment, please.	Shou shou omachi kudasai.
Excuse me, but who's calling, please?	Shitsurei desu ga, dochira sama desu ka.
Do you know about when he/she will be back?	Nanji goro omodori desu ka.
I'm not sure.	Chotto wakarimasen.
He/she should be back soon.	Mousugu modoru to omoimasu.
He/she won't be back till this evening.	Yuugata made modorimasen.
Can I take a message?	Nanika otsutae shimashou ka.
Please do.	Onegaishimasu.
No, that's OK, thank you.	Iie, kekkou desu.
Could you please ask him/her to call me?	O-denwa kudasai to otsutae negaemasu ka.
Could you please tell him/her I'll call back later?	Mata denwa shimasu to otsutae kudasai.
Please call back this evening.	Konban mata kakenaoshite kudasai.

Someone's Home
Is this Mr./Ms. Yamada's residence?	Yamada-san no otaku desu ka.
Yes, it is.	Hai, sou desu.
This is Ichiro.	Watakushi wa Ichiro desu ga.
Is Haruko there?	Haruko-san wa irasshaimasu ka.
I'm sorry to phone you so late at night.	Yabun osoku ni sumimasen.
Can I leave a message?	Dengon o onegaishimasu.
I'll call back later.	Mata ato de denwa shimasu.

Phone Troubles
I'm sorry.	Sumimasen.
Please speak more slowly.	Motto yukkuri hanashite kudasai.
Please say it again.	Mou ichido itte kudasai.
Could you repeat that please?	Mou ichido onegaishimasu.
Do you understand?	Wakarimasu ka.
I don't understand.	Wakarimasen.
No, you're mistaken. (Use this when people have dialed the wrong number.)	Iie, chigaimasu.
I made a mistake. (I dialed the wrong number.)	Machigaemashita.