Neighbours, shops, rubbish days and plans with friends: the Japanese of an ordinary day.
33 sentences · 3 dialogues · 17 words
Daily life in Japan runs on a small set of phrases said again and again: on leaving the house, on coming home, at the till, to a neighbour. Learning them gives you more real conversations than any other set of words.
Everyday Japanese also shows the two speech levels side by side: plain forms with friends and family, the polite masu form with everyone else. Each sentence here is labelled with the one it uses.
Goals by level. Tick what you can already do — the tick stays in this browser only.
17 words from the word lists, ordered by level. A coloured edge shows what you have already practised.
Short dialogues to read along and repeat. Say one part first, then the other.
You and a friend arrange to go shopping at the weekend.
ねえ、土曜日ひま？Hey, are you free on Saturday?
うん、午後なら大丈夫だよ。Yes, the afternoon’s fine.
じゃあ、一緒に買い物に行かない？Then do you want to go shopping together?
いいね！どこで待ち合わせする？Great! Where shall we meet?
駅の改札の前に二時はどう？How about two o’clock in front of the ticket gates?
わかった。じゃあ、土曜日にね！OK. See you on Saturday, then!
You have just moved in and call on the neighbour with a small gift.
はじめまして。昨日、隣に引っ越してきました。How do you do? I moved in next door yesterday.
あら、はじめまして。大家さんから聞いていますよ。Oh, how do you do? The landlord told me about you.
これ、つまらないものですが、どうぞ。This is just a small something for you.
まあ、ご丁寧にありがとうございます。Oh, how kind of you. Thank you very much.
あの、ゴミの日を教えていただけますか。Um, could you tell me which days the rubbish goes out?
燃えるゴミは月曜日と木曜日ですよ。朝八時までに出してくださいね。Burnable rubbish is on Mondays and Thursdays. Put it out by eight in the morning.
A colleague invites you for a drink after work.
今夜、みんなで飲みに行くんですけど、どうですか。We’re all going for a drink tonight — would you like to come?
ありがとうございます。でも、今日はちょっと用事があって…。Thank you. But I have something on today…
そうですか。残念ですね。I see. That’s a pity.
また今度、ぜひ誘ってください。Please do ask me again next time.
はい、また声をかけますね。Sure, I’ll ask you again.
The label says where a sentence belongs. The speaker next to it reads it aloud.
いってきます！I’m off! (said when leaving home)
ただいま。I’m home.
おかえりなさい。Welcome home.
今日は暑いですね。It’s hot today, isn’t it?
袋はいりません。I don’t need a bag.
レジはどこですか。Where is the checkout?
すみません、これはいくらですか。Excuse me, how much is this?
明日、映画を見に行きませんか。Would you like to go and see a film tomorrow?
駅の前で会いましょう。Let’s meet in front of the station.
ちょっと待って。Wait a sec.
部屋が狭いです。My room is small.
土曜日、都合はどう？Does Saturday work for you?
ごめん、その日はちょっと…。Sorry, that day’s a bit…
寝坊して、遅刻しそう！I overslept and I’m going to be late!
待ち合わせは何時にする？What time shall we meet?
お釣りが足りないと思います。I think the change is short.
ゴミは何曜日に出せばいいですか。Which day should I put the rubbish out?
今週の金曜日、飲み会があるんだけど、来る？There’s a drinks evening this Friday — want to come?
部屋を掃除しなきゃ。I have to clean my room.
約束、忘れないでね。Don’t forget our plans, OK?
日曜日は何をする予定？What are you planning to do on Sunday?
隣に引っ越してきたシュミットです。よろしくお願いします。I’m Schmidt; I’ve just moved in next door. Nice to meet you.
悪いけど、今日は無理かも。Sorry, but today might not work.
了解！じゃあ、六時に駅で。Got it! Six at the station, then.
誘ってくれてありがとう。でも、用事があって…。Thanks for inviting me, but I’ve got something on…
夜遅く洗濯機を使うのは迷惑になるので、やめましょう。Using the washing machine late at night disturbs people, so let’s not.
荷物の再配達をお願いしたいんですが。I’d like to have a parcel redelivered.
エアコンが壊れたみたいなんです。I think the air conditioner is broken.
最近どう？元気にしてた？How have you been lately? Keeping well?
せっかく誘ってもらったのに、行けなくてごめんね。Sorry I couldn’t come when you were kind enough to invite me.
町内会の集まりに顔を出すことにしました。I’ve decided to show my face at the neighbourhood association meeting.
家賃の支払いが遅れてしまい、申し訳ありません。I’m sorry my rent payment is late.
近所付き合いは、思ったより大切だと感じています。I’m finding that getting on with the neighbours matters more than I expected.
6 questions on the words and sentences of this field. The word questions count in your progress like any other exercise.
Read the meaning, say the sentence aloud in Japanese, then open it to compare.
いってきます！
駅の前で会いましょう。
ゴミは何曜日に出せばいいですか。
誘ってくれてありがとう。でも、用事があって…。
Every sentence on this page was written for EveryLingua. There are no quotations from films, series, books or songs here, and no titles or names of artists — the page shows how people talk in this field, not what somebody once said.
