Conversational Nihonto / Japanese

Compiled by Tatu
October 2005

Japanese Language is an honorific or rank language, meaning there are certain ways to say things to express respect or honor. The langage is full of ways to express courtesy and done so in a rich protocol manner.

The following words are spelled using Romanji, an english phonetic manner of spelling sounds.

To help with phonetics, when you see:

"oo"  as in Ohaiyoo, the oo is there to denote a long "o" in english and it is drawn out just a bit.

"Ee" is a short drawn our "e" sound.

"EE" is a long drawn our "e" sound.

"O-"  using an O at the beginning of a word, is a politer way of saying it with a higher respect.

desu    This is the "be" verb, equivilent to the English "is" in the sense of "equals"

Useful Daily Phrases

Ohayoo	Good Morning, used until about 10am among close family.
Ohayoogozaimasu Pronounced O-ha-yoo  go zai mah su   The "a" is a short a as in "ah"	Good Morning (said in a more courteous and respectful way to those of higher rank or in the public).
Kon nichiwa	Hello or Good Afternoon.
Konbanwa	Good Evening
Oyasumi nasai	Good Night
Deawa mata /     Ja mata	See you later / Well then... said informally when parting from friends or relatives
Sayoonara	Good bye Not "Seye ya nar ruh like you hear in the movies, but  "Sai yoo na ra"   (00 = long exteded o)
Shitsurei shimasu	Good bye, used on more formal occassions
O-genki desuka?	How are you?  Literally- Are you well?
Ee, O-kagesamade	Very well, thank you.
Anata-wa?	And you?
sensei - wa ?	And you, sensei?
Genki-desu	Fine, thank you
do-shimashita-ka	What's the matter?
odaijini	Take good care of yourself.
Hai	Yes
Lie	No       pronounced  EE-eh
Doozo	Please   Doo-zo
Doomo	Thanks   Doo-mo
Doomo Arigatoo	Thank you very munch Doo-mo A-ri-ga-too
Doo  itashimashite	You are welcome. Literally "no, thank YOU" Doo  i-ta-shi-mash-i-te
Chotomatte  kudasai	Wait just a moment please Chotomate is said with very hard syllables Cho! to! mat! te!  ku-da-sai
Moo ichido	"Once more please" Pronounced:  Moo i-chi-do
Moo ichido            onegaishimasu	"Once more please", said in a more respectful manner Moo ichido  o-ne-gai-shi-masu
Ganbatte kudasai	Do your best. / Keep your chin up! Said to encourage someone Gan-bat-te is said with very very hard syllables "Gan! bat! te!  ku-da-sai
Sumimasen	Is used in a variety of situations. The basic use is to excuse oneself Pardon me Thank you Excuse me, but I'm sorry, but
gomen-nasai	I'm terribly sorry
Hajimemashite Tatu des Yoroshiku	How do you do? I am Tatu. Nice to meet you.
Watashi no meeshi des, Dohzo	This is my business card. Please.... (accept it  -implied)

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