Japanese love

4 Japanese Survival Phrases You Must Know

It’s the nightmare scenario.  You are on a plane to Japan for an important business meeting and you don’t speak a lick of Japanese.  You know sushi, ninja and tsunami, and are worried your butt is on the line back at the head office.  What if you say the wrong thing and the big deal goes South!

Well, never fear.  You are about to enter the Japanese-in-42-seconds zone.  Where you will learn everything you need to know to fake your way through just about anything.  Oh, yeah, that’s right, you are going to fake it.  Trust me, it works.

In order to fake your way through Japanese society you must understand a few important things:

1. Words you need to memorize (hey there’s only four, it’s easy!):

• arigato = thanks
• sumimasen = excuse me (I stepped on your toe, bumped the table, or something else equally idiotic.)
• Konichiwa = Hi/hello.
• daijobu/diajobu? I’m ok./Are you ok? (This one can be used just about anywhere when you need to convey Are you ok? or let someone know you are ok.)

2. Communicating: Use your four words above as much as possible.  Arigato when the tea comes.  Sumimasen when you bump someone on the train (because you will, it’s crowded and you are bigger than everyone.)  Konichiwa to friends and your new business colleagues.  Daijobu? to a child who dropped his Nintendo on the train platform.

Now, you can’t possibly have any real communication with the four words above, but that isn’t the point.  The point is that you show everyone around that you are trying your darndest to speak the difficult Japanese language.  It is a tough language to learn and the Japanese love it when foreigners try use it.  This show a little spirit on your part.

I hope this helps you get around a little more easily in Japan.

Love Story Japan

Japanese language class — now you’re talking.
Until relatively recently, I hated my name.