Language in use

Japanese for travelling

Station, hotel, restaurant and shop: polite Japanese that works anywhere on a trip.

Why this field

Outside the big hubs, English is far from universal in Japan. A few polite sentences open doors, and staff are visibly pleased when visitors try.

The good news for travellers: the polite masu form is always right with strangers, and a handful of set phrases covers most situations.

Sentences to say aloud

The label says where a sentence belongs. The speaker next to it reads it aloud.

1. すみません、駅(えき)はどこですか。Excuse me, where is the station?

   polite

2. この電車(でんしゃ)は京都(きょうと)に止(と)まりますか。Does this train stop at Kyoto?

   neutral

3. 予約(よやく)したベッカーです。I have a reservation; my name is Becker.

   polite At a hotel you simply say your name with です.

4. チェックインをお願(ねが)いします。I’d like to check in, please.

   polite

5. これをください。I’ll have this one, please.

   neutral Pointing and saying これ works in any shop.

6. カードで払(はら)えますか。Can I pay by card?

   neutral

7. おすすめは何(なん)ですか。What do you recommend?

   neutral

8. 英語(えいご)のメニューはありますか。Do you have an English menu?

   neutral

9. トイレはどこですか。Where is the toilet?

   neutral

10. ごちそうさまでした。Thank you for the meal. (said after eating)

    polite Said after a meal, also to restaurant staff on the way out.

What matters here

• すみません does three jobs: "excuse me" to get attention, "sorry" and even "thank you" for a small favour.
• With strangers always use the polite form: どこですか, not どこ？
• 〜をお願(ねが)いします and 〜をください are the two all-purpose ways to ask for something.

Try it yourself

Read the meaning, say the sentence aloud in Japanese, then open it to compare.

1. Excuse me, where is the station?

   すみません、駅(えき)はどこですか。

2. I have a reservation; my name is Becker.

   予約(よやく)したベッカーです。

3. I’ll have this one, please.

   これをください。

4. What do you recommend?

   おすすめは何(なん)ですか。

More fields

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.