japanese essay phrases

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Transition Words and Phrases for Japanese Essays  

  June 9, 2020

By   Alexis Papa

Are you having a hard time connecting between your ideas in your Japanese essay? In this article, we have listed useful transition words and phrases that you can use to help you let your ideas flow and have an organized essay.

Japanese Phrases for Giving Examples and Emphasis

For example,

がいこく、たとえばちゅうごくへいったことがありますか。 Gaikoku, tatoeba Chuugoku e itta koto ga arimasu ka?

Have you been abroad, for instance China?

たぶんちゅうごくへいったことがあります。 Tabun Chuugoku e itta koto ga arimasu.

I have probably been to China.

Japanese Essay Phrases: General Explaining

しけんにごうかくするのために、まじめにべんきょうしなきゃ。 Shiken ni goukaku suru no tame ni, majime ni benkyou shinakya.

In order to pass the exam, I must study.

あしたあめがふるそう。だから、かさをもってきて。 Ashita ame ga furu sou. Dakara, kasa wo motte kite.

It seems that it will rain tomorrow. So, bring an umbrella.

Showing Sequence

まず、あたらしいさくぶんのがいせつをしようとおもう。 Mazu, atarashii sakubun no gaisetsu wo shiyou to omou.

First, I am going to do an outline of my new essay.

つぎに、さくぶんをかきはじめます。 Tsugi ni, sakubun wo kaki hajimemasu.

Then, I will begin writing my essay.

Adding Supporting Statements

かれはブレーキをかけ、そしてくるまはとまった。 Kare wa bureki wo kake, soshite kuruma wa tomatta.

He put on the brakes and then the car stopped.

いえはかなりにみえたし、しかもねだんがてごろだった。 Ie wa kanari ni mieta shi, shikamo nedan ga tegoro datta.

The house looked good; moreover,the (selling) price was right.

Demonstrating Contrast 

にほんごはむずかしいですが、おもしろいです。 Nihongo wa muzukashii desu ga, omoshiroi desu.

Although Japanese language is difficult, it is enjoyable.

にほんごはむずかしいです。でも、おもしろいです。 Nihongo wa muzukashii desu. Demo, omoshiroi desu.

Japanese language is difficult. Nevertheless, it is enjoyable.

にほんごはむずかしいです。しかし、おもしろいです。 Nihondo wa muzukashii desu. Shikashi, omoshiroi desu.

Japanese language is difficult. However, it is enjoyable.

にほんごはむずかしいですけれど、おもしろいです。 Nihongo wa muzakashii desu keredo, omoshiroi desu.

Japanese Essay Phrases for Summarizing

われわれはこのはなしはじつわだというけつろんにたっした。 Wareware wa kono hanashi wa jitsuwa da to iu ketsuron ni tasshita.

We have come to a conclusion that this is a true story.

Now that you have learned these Japanese transitional words and phrases, we hope that your Japanese essay writing has become easier. Leave a comment and write examples of sentences using these Japanese essay phrases!

Alexis Papa

Alexis is a Japanese language and culture enthusiast from the Philippines. She is a Japanese Studies graduate, and has worked as an ESL and Japanese instructor at a local language school. She enjoys her free time reading books and watching series.

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Advanced Japanese Phrases to Help You Level Up

If you’re an advanced learner or starting to move ahead to an upper level, you may soon face a phenomenon known as “diminishing returns.” The learning curve theory indicates that the more you advance, the slower your progress will be. This concept also applies to your Japanese language learning! As such, you’ll need to be patient and make a steady effort in order to achieve the advanced level of Japanese and reach true proficiency.

After learning the grammar and vocabulary of the intermediate level, all you need to do is increase your vocabulary by learning more advanced Japanese phrases. In particular, you’ll want to pick up a variety of idioms, proverbs, expressions, and slang terms. You’ll also benefit from expanding your knowledge of grammatical variations, such as 敬語 ( Keigo ), or “honorific speech,” as well as the very formal language for particular settings (e.g., only used in official letters or legal texts).

While conquering the advanced Japanese level may feel like an endless journey, remember that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step! You have already achieved so much since Day 1 to arrive at your current level. Now you just need to continue filling the holes in your vocabulary and learning new expressions through books, the news, TV, movies, and other media. 

Boost your journey with our list of the most useful advanced Japanese phrases for various occasions!

You can handle any situation if you’re at an advanced level.

• Useful Phrases for Academic Writing
• Power Phrases for Your Cover Letter
• Smart Proverbs for Business and Meetings
• Advanced Japanese Idioms and Sayings for Everyday Usage

1. Useful Phrases for Academic Writing

The use of logical and structured sentences is a key element in good academic writing . Below, we will introduce advanced Japanese phrases that are frequently used to organize, articulate, and connect thoughts in writing. These phrases are useful not only in writing but also in public speaking, where they allow the audience to more easily follow and understand the content. 

まず初めに、本研究の趣旨について説明します。

Mazu hajime ni, hon kenkyū no shushi ni tsuite setsumei shimasu.

“First of all, I’d like to explain the purpose of this research.”

小論文を書くために重要なことが三点ある。第一に、論理的であること。第二に、分かりやすいこと。第三に、納得できること、である。

Shōronbun o kaku tame ni, jūyō na koto ga san-ten aru.  Daiichi ni, rironteki de aru koto. Daini ni, wakariyasui koto. Daisan ni, nattoku dekiru koto, de aru.

“There are three important points in writing an essay. Firstly, it is logical. Secondly, it’s easy to understand. Thirdly, it is convincing.”

地球温暖化のトピックに関して意見を交換しましょう。

Chikyū ondanka no topikku ni kanshite iken o kōkan shimashō.

“Let’s exchange views in regard to global warming.”

中小企業白書によると、日本の中小企業数は3,578,176社で全企業数のうち99.7%を占めています。

Chūshō kigyō hakusho ni yoruto, Nihon no chūshō kigyōsū wa 3,578,176 sha de,  zen kigyōsū no uchi  99.7% o shimete imasu.

“According to White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises , the number of small and medium enterprises in Japan is 3,578,176, accounting for 99.7% of the total number of companies.”

地球温暖化の問題は、言い換えれば、私たちひとりひとりの問題です。

Chikyū ondanka no mondai wa, iikaereba, watashi-tachi hitori hitori no mondai desu.

“The problem of global warming is, in other words, the problem of each one of us.”

パンデミックの発生は、人々の健康に影響を及ぼしました。 更に、国内および世界の経済にも大きな打撃となりました。

Pandemikku no hassei wa, hitobito no kenkō ni eikyō o oyoboshimashita. Sara ni, kokunai oyobi sekaijū no keizai ni mo ōkina dageki to narimashita.

“The outbreak of the pandemic has affected people’s health. In addition, it also had a major impact on the domestic and global economies.”

九州地方では大雨警報が出ています。 一方で、北関東地方では干ばつが連日続いています。

Kyūshū chihō de wa ōame keihō ga dete imasu. Ippō de, kita Kantō chihō de wa kanbatsu ga renjitsu tsuzuite imasu. 

“Heavy rain warnings have been issued in the Kyushu region. On the other hand, droughts continue every day in the northern Kanto region.”

日本は火山が多い。従って、天然の温泉も多い。

Nihon wa kazan ga ōi. Shitagatte, tennen no onsen mo ōi. 

“Japan has a lot of volcanic mountains. Therefore, there are also many natural hot springs.”

作業過程をある程度自動化してくれるツールがいくつかあります。

Sagyō katei o aru teido jidōka shite kureru tsūru ga ikutsuka arimasu. 

“There are some tools that automate the work process to some extent.”

津波が発生した時は、高台にいる限り身の安全を確保できます。

Tsunami ga hassei shita toki wa, takadai ni iru kagiri mi no anzen o kakuho dekimasu.

“When a tsunami occurs, you can secure your safety as long as you are on a hill.”

日本列島の南に位置する沖縄の年間平均気温は摂氏23.1度です。対照的に、北に位置する北海道では8.9度です。

Nihon rettō no minami ni ichi suru Okinawa no nenkan heikin kion wa sesshi 23.1-do desu. Taishōteki ni, kita ni ichi suru Hokkaidō wa 8.9-do desu.

“The average annual temperature of Okinawa, located south of the Japanese archipelago, is 23.1 degrees Celsius. By contrast, it is 8.9 degrees in Hokkaido, which is located in the North.”

高速道路での大きな事故によりひどい渋滞に巻き込まれました。結果として、飛行機に乗り遅れました。

Kōsoku dōro de no ōkina jiko ni yori hidoi jūtai ni makikomaremashita. Kekka to shite, hikōki ni noriokuremashita.

“I was caught in a terrible traffic jam due to a big accident on the highway. As a result, I missed the flight.”

2. Power Phrases for Your Cover Letter

When it comes to writing an official letter in Japanese, there are some particular rules and style guidelines to follow.

A cover letter ( 送付状 [ sōfujō ] or 添え状 [ soejō ] in Japanese) is a letter of introduction that a job seeker attaches to their resume or CV. In most cases, its function is to greet and to indicate what document(s) you’re sending by clarifying “to whom,” “by whom,” “what,” and “why.” It may also contain a supplementary explanation of what you want to emphasize in the main document.

Most importantly, however, it can be proof that you have business etiquette and common sense. Therefore, it should be a “decent” letter that follows the rules expected of an official document.

Here is a brief list of advanced-level Japanese phrases you should consider including in your cover letter.

Explanation: 

This is a common formal greeting that is used only in official writing. It should be used as the first line of your text, especially when you’re writing to a company. 

When beginning with 拝啓 ( haikei ) , meaning “Dear sirs” (literally: “Humbly I say”) you have to finish the letter with 敬具 ( keigu ) , meaning “Sincerely yours” (literally: “Humbly I said”).

よろしくお願いいたします ( yoroshiku onegai itashimasu ) is an untranslatable Japanese phrase that is often used in business contexts. It’s a useful phrase in that it has many meanings and can be used in various situations to express gratitude, humbleness, and the desire to have a good relationship from that point forward.

And remember: When you use 拝啓 ( haikei ) at the beginning of your letter, you must finish it with 敬具 ( keigu ) .

3. Smart Proverbs for Business and Meetings

In Japanese culture, idiomatic expressions ( 慣用表現 kan’yō hyōgen ) and proverbs ( ことわざ kotowaza ) are often used in daily conversations in order to enrich statements or to include a moralistic meaning. The following phrases are popular Japanese idioms and proverbs that are frequently used in business contexts. 

同じ議論を繰り返しても、埒があかない。

Onaji giron o kurikaeshite mo, rachi ga akanai.

“Repeating the same discussion does not make any progress.”

案ずるより産むが易しと言います。まずはリスクを恐れずに実行することが大切です。

Anzuru yori umu ga yasushi to iimasu. Mazu wa risuku o osorezu ni jikkō suru koto ga taisetsu desu.

“It is said that it’s easier to do something than to worry about it; it’s important to take action without fear of risk.”

それは良い案ですね！善は急げ、早速それをプロジェクトに取り入れましょう。

Sore wa ii an desu ne! Zen wa isoge, sassoku sore o purojekuto ni toriiremashō.

“That’s a good idea! Strike while the iron is hot; let’s adopt it into the project now.”

損して得取れと言うように、設備投資による費用はかかりますが、長期的に見ると生産コストとCO2排出を大幅に削減できます。

Son shite toku tore to iu yō ni, setsubi tōshi ni yoru hiyō wa kakarimasu ga, chōkiteki ni miru to seisan kosuto to CO2 haishutsu o ōhaba ni sakugen dekimasu.

“As the proverb says, ‘Obtain benefit by losing.’ Although there are costs associated with capital investment, production costs and CO2 emissions can be significantly reduced in the long run.”

その企業は事業存続のために苦肉の策として、大手企業との業務提携に踏み切りました。

Sono kigyō wa jigyō sonzoku no tame ni kuniku no saku to shite, ōte kigyō to no gyōmu teikei ni fumikirimashita.

“The company has decided to make a business alliance with a major company as a desperate measure for business survival.”

一度引き受けた案件は、乗りかかった船です。情勢が変化しても全力でやり遂げましょう。

Ichi-do hikiuketa anken wa, norikakatta fune desu. Jōsei ga henka shite mo zenryoku de yaritogemashō.

“The project that we once undertook is the ship we have already gotten on. Even if the situation changes, let’s do our best to complete it.”

先んずれば人を制す。ライバル社が参入する前に新規事業を軌道にのせましょう。

S akinzureba hito o seisu. Raibarusha ga sannyū suru mae ni shinki jigy ō o kidō ni nosemashō.

“The foremost dog catches the hare. Let’s get the new business on track before our rivals enter the market.”

新規プロジェクトのリーダーとして、経験豊富な彼に白羽の矢がたった。

Shinki purojekuto no rīdā to shite, keiken hōfu na kare ni shiraha no ya ga tatta.

“As someone who is well experienced, he was chosen to be the leader of the new project.”

彼は間違って非常に重要な書類を破棄してしまった。後悔しても所詮、後の祭りだ。

Kare wa machigatte hijō ni j ūy ō na shorui o haki shite shimatta. Kōkai shitemo shosen, ato no matsuri da.

“He accidentally discarded the very important document. Even if he regrets it, it’s too late after all.”

イベントの準備に最前を尽くしてきました。成功するかどうかは、あとは運を天に任せましょう。

Ibento no junbi ni saizen o tsukushite kimashita. Seikō suru ka dō ka wa, ato wa un o ten ni makasemashō.

“We have been doing our best to prepare for the event. Let’s leave luck to heaven as to whether we succeed or not.”

4. Advanced Japanese Idioms and Sayings for Everyday Usage

Idiomatic expressions are frequently used not only in daily conversations but also in the stories that make our lives so rich and colorful. 

Japanese idioms are very fun to learn! They feature unique and sometimes eccentric combinations of words that would make no sense at all if you were to translate them word for word.

What do you imagine when you hear “bite a parent’s shin” (親のすねをかじる oya no sune o kajiru )? It does not refer to someone actually biting their parent’s shin, but rather to an adult who still lives off of their parents. 

Below are several idiomatic phrases in Japanese for advanced learners.

彼はよく営業の外回り中に、カフェで油を売っている。

Kare wa yoku eigyō no sotomawarichū ni, kafe de abura o utte iru.

“He often idles his time away at a cafe when he’s meeting clients out of office.”

彼女は犯罪を犯して、誠実な両親の顔に泥を塗った。

Kanojo wa hanzai o okashite, seijitsu na ryōshin no kao ni doro o nutta.

“She committed a crime and disgraced her sincere parents.”

口を酸っぱくして何度も言うように、交通事故には気をつけてください。

Kuchi o suppaku shite nan-do mo iu yō ni, kōtsū jiko ni wa ki o tsukete kudasai.

“As I tell you over and over, please be careful of traffic accidents.”

彼女はダイエットしようと決めたが、トレーニングと食事制限が辛くてさじを投げた。

Kanojo wa daietto o shiyō to kimeta ga, torēningu to shokuji seigen ga tsurakute saji o nageta.

“She decided to go on a diet, but she gave up because of the painful training and dietary restrictions.”

世界的な不景気の影響で、今年のボーナスは雀の涙ほどでした。

Sekaiteki na fukeiki no eikyō de, kotoshi no bōnasu wa suzume no namida hodo deshita.

“Due to the global recession, this year’s bonus was very little.”

喉から手が出るほど、来月発売の新しいスマートフォンがほしい。

Nodo kara te ga deru hodo, raigetsu hatsubai no atarashii sumātofon ga hoshii.

“I desperately want the new smartphone that will be released next month.”

根も葉もない噂を信じて人を判断しないでください。

Ne mo ha mo nai uwasa o shinjite hito o handan shinaide kudasai.

“Don’t judge people by believing groundless rumors.”

彼女は身を粉にして働き、女手一つで３人の子供を育てました。

Kanojo wa mi o ko ni shite hataraki, onnade hitotsu de san-nin no kodomo o sodatemashita.

“She worked very hard and raised three children all by herself.”

過去のことは水に流して、今と将来のことに目を向けよう。

Kako no koto wa mizu ni nagashite, ima to shōrai no koto ni me o mukeyō.

“Let’s forgive and forget about the past, and focus on the present and the future.”

帰り道で救急車のサイレンを聞いて胸が騒いだので、家族を心配して家まで走って帰った。

Kaerimichi de kyūkyūsha no sairen o kiite mune ga sawaida node, kazoku o shinpai shite ie made hashitte kaetta.

“I felt uneasy when I heard the ambulance siren on my way home, so I ran home because I was worried about my family.”

5. Conclusion

In this article, we introduced the most useful advanced Japanese phrases for academic writing, cover letters, and business. We even included a few idioms and sayings for daily usage. Some of these phrases are only used in a particular context, such as the formal greeting for letters, and mastering such advanced Japanese phrases will make you appear more fluent!

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language and pick up additional Japanese phrases for different situations, you’ll find a lot more helpful content on JapanesePod101.com . We provide a variety of free lessons designed to help you improve your Japanese language skills. 

As you approach the advanced level in your Japanese studies, the following articles will also be very useful for you: 

• Advanced Japanese Words
• Essential Business Japanese
• Japanese Proverbs – Gain Japanese Wisdom and Insight

And there’s so much more! Be a faster learner and enjoy studying Japanese at JapanesePod101.com !

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Japanese Writing Practice: Ultimate List of Resources for Every Level

Japanese writing can be one of the scariest aspects of learning Japanese! And there’s no shortcut to success – you simply have to get your Japanese writing practice in . Luckily there are no shortage of tools to help you with this!

Whether you are a beginner looking to practise your Japanese handwriting, or an advanced student in need of Japanese essay writing practice, there are lots of free and cheap resources out there at every level.

Here’s my roundup of the best websites, apps, printables and other tools for Japanese writing practice.

Japanese writing practice apps

Free websites for japanese writing practice online, easy japanese writing practice for beginners, japanese hiragana and katakana writing practice.

If you are new to learning Japanese, you’ll want to get your hiragana and katakana down pat before you move on to anything else.

Spending time on your hiragana and katakana writing practice not only helps you memorise the characters, it will also improve your handwriting and help you become accustomed to correct stroke order, which will be a massive benefit when you move on to learning kanji !

There are loads of free Japanese katakana and hiragana writing practice sheets online for you to download and print at home. Here’s a selection:

Free Japanese hiragana and katakana writing practice sheets pdf workbook

This free workbook from JapanesePod101 introduces all the hiragana and katakana characters and has spaces for you to trace, and then copy them out. The workbook also contains flashcards to practise your recognition. Note: you need to create a free account to access the workbook.

Japanese hiragana writing practice sheets

An alternative source to print out hiragana practice sheets, with grid lines to help your handwriting.

Japanese katakana writing practice sheets

An alternative source to print out katakana practice sheets, with grid lines to help your handwriting.

Free BLANK Japanese writing practice sheets

If you just want blank Japanese graph paper to practise writing out your characters, I have created my own in various sizes/formats for you to download and print!

Kakikata print maker

An awesome website (designed for Japanese parents/teachers to use with their children) where you can design and print your own worksheets with kana or kanji characters of your choice, in various formats. You can even choose to add stroke order! Useful if you want to practise a particular word or set of characters.

Japanese Tools: create your own kana practice sheets

Here is another useful site where you can create your own Japanese practice writing sheets with the characters of your choice, printed with a gradual fade to trace/copy.

Japanese kanji writing practice

If you are studying kanji from a textbook or course and you just need blank kanji graph paper to practise writing on, you can print that out here .

If you are looking for pre-printed kanji worksheets with kanji to copy out, the best resource I have found is this one:

This amazing website lets you download and print kanji writing practice worksheets for kanji sets according to JLPT level, Japanese school grade level, Wanikani level, Kanji Garden app level, or frequency. It’s totally free and so useful!

Easy Japanese sentence writing practice

Once you know your kana and a few kanji, you might start to think about writing out some Japanese sentences.

JapanesePod101 writing practice worksheets 

JapanesePod101 has a selection of free Japanese writing practice sheets, available as pdfs that you can download and print yourself. They currently have 16+ free writing practice workbooks on beginner-friendly topics such as daily routine or ordering food. This is a good way to get used to writing out simple Japanese sentences at the beginner level. 

However, I wouldn’t recommend them for complete beginners because they use kanji – so you should be familiar with some kanji and the basic rules of stroke order before you use them.

As soon as you are able to form Japanese sentences on your own, I recommend you start a Japanese journal and/or sharing your sentences with others using the resources in the intermediate/advanced section below!

When you are learning to write in Japanese, I recommend writing them out by hand as much as possible because it helps you learn by muscle memory and helps you develop neat handwriting! However, it’s also useful to have a great writing practice app or two on your phone so you can study on the go.

There are lots of great apps out there to practise writing Japanese characters. Here are some recommendations:

Skritter is an app for learning Japanese (and Chinese) writing and vocabulary. You can use Skritter to learn kana and kanji from scratch, or simply to review what you’ve learned. It uses handwriting recognition and a spaced repetition system (SRS) to help you learn effectively.

Under the ‘test’ settings section you can choose to focus on writing only, or add in flashcards for reading and definition too.

It works well alongside other courses and textbooks to practise your characters. They have pre-made flashcard decks from various textbooks which is great when you get on to drilling vocabulary.

As with Skritter, you can either use this app to learn kana and kanji as a complete beginner, or just to practise writing the characters you already know. In fact, it’s probably the best app I’ve found if you just want a simple flashcard-style writing practice app with handwriting recognition. It’s a little clunkier to use but once you’ve got it set up, it’s easy. If you already know the kana and you just want to practise, choose ‘Yes, but I need more practice’ during the set-up stage.

The Scripts app from the makers of Drops teaches you kana and kanji (and also has the option to learn other languages’ scripts, such as hangul or hanzi, if you’re doing the polyglot thing). You learn by tracing the characters with your finger on the screen.

It’s a good option if you are learning to write the Japanese characters from scratch. However, I could not see an option to skip the ‘learning’ stage and just review, so if you’ve already mastered your kana it won’t be for you.

Learn Japanese! 

This is a very simple and easy to use app to learn how to write hiragana and katakana. However, you only learn 5 characters at a time and I couldn’t see a way to skip to review only, so again, great for complete beginners but not if you just want to practise.

Intermediate and advanced Japanese writing practice

At the intermediate and advanced levels, you are well beyond copying out characters/sentences on worksheets, and you will be creating your own compositions in Japanese. In fact, I highly recommend doing this as soon as you are able to! 

One popular method to get your Japanese writing practice is to keep a daily diary or journal in Japanese . You can try to incorporate new grammar and vocabulary you’ve learned, or simply write whatever comes into your head just to get used to writing in Japanese.

Even jotting down a few private sentences in your own notebook will be beneficial. But if you want to step it up a notch, use one of the websites/apps below to share your writing with other learners and native speakers and receive feedback.

If you’ve been studying languages for a while you might be mourning the loss of Lang8, a site where you could post journal entries in your target language online and get feedback from native speakers. Here are a couple of Lang 8 alternatives I’ve found:

LangCorrect

LangCorrect is a site where you can practise your Japanese writing online by writing daily journal entries and getting corrections from native speakers. It’s fairly active with the Japanese learning community, and you can usually expect to get a few comments/corrections within a few hours (don’t forget to take the time difference into account!). They also have journal prompts in case you’re feeling the writer’s block. It’s free to use.

Journaly is a similar site I’ve heard, about although I haven’t used it and I have the impression its user base is smaller than LangCorrect. It’s free to use and there is also a paid version which has a few extra benefits, such as bumping up your posts to get more attention.

This is a free website offered by Dickinson College. Its main purpose is for connecting language exchange partners, but they also have a feature where you can post writing samples to receive corrections from native speakers.

r/WriteStreakJP

This subreddit is a forum to practise writing in Japanese. It’s for anyone at any level who wants to practise their Japanese writing. The idea is that you write something every day to build up a ‘streak’ and build the habit of writing in Japanese regularly.

You can write whatever you feel like; many people write diary-like entries about their day, or share random thoughts, or write about something new they’ve learned etc. There are native Japanese speaking mods who drop by to correct mistakes.

There are a lot more learners than native speakers on the forum, though, so unfortunately you’re not guaranteed feedback. But it’s still a great place to practise writing (and reading!) Japanese.

HelloTalk is a language exchange app where you can connect with Japanese native speakers, chat via text, voice or video call and receive feedback on your Japanese. In addition to connecting with people directly, you can also create ‘moments’ (write posts such as sharing journal entries, or pictures of your day) and ask general questions, and receive comments/feedback from other users.

Be warned, recently I hear a lot of users complaining that people use the messaging function like a dating app – but you may have better success using the ‘moments’ function or messaging people yourself first.

Another language exchange app where you can exchange text messages with a Japanese-speaking partner and receive corrections.

HiNative  

On HiNative you can ask questions about language usage and get feedback from native speakers. You can write your questions either in Japanese or English. This question/answer service is free. Premium paid members can also post diary entries to get feedback.

More resources for Japanese writing practice

Here’s a mixture of other useful tools and resources I’ve found for Japanese writing practice that don’t fit neatly into the above categories! This section contains a mixture of free and paid resources.

Japanese water calligraphy practice kits (paid)

Why not go old-school and practise your Japanese characters with a real calligraphy brush! In Japan, students often practise their calligraphy with these nifty ‘magic’ kits, where you paint with water on the special water-activated paper, which fades away after a few minutes so you can reuse it time and time again. This is a fun way to refine your Japanese handwriting while reviewing the characters!

Printable Japanese journals with writing prompts (paid) 

I found this printable Japanese journaling/writing practice kit on Etsy. It contains dozens of writing prompts at the beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, so you’ve got no excuse not to jot down a few sentences in Japanese every day! Check out the other great resources by the same author.

Japanese planner templates (free)

If you want to take daily notes or plan your day/week in Japanese, this site has loads of free Japanese planner templates to print out.

Japanese writing practice notebooks (paid)

The paper used in Japan for school compositions/essay writing practice is called genkouyoushi . There are lots of genkouyoushi notebooks with cute cover designs available on Amazon.

Free printable genkouyoushi (Japanese composition paper)

Alternatively, you can print out your own genkouyoushi-style blank writing sheets here for free.

Japanese sentence/usage databases

These databases are useful tools that I often use when writing in Japanese to check how words are used. You can search for a Japanese word and see it in context of many authentic, native Japanese sentences, to get an idea of correct and natural usage. You can also use them for sentence mining , if that’s your thing.

• Reverso – my favourite. Need to create a free account to see all sentences.
• Natsume – see how often a word is used, and which particles and other words usually follow it
• Sentence search with audio

How to Write Japanese Essays book (paid)

If you are studying Japanese to a very high level, for example to enter a Japanese university or company, you will need Japanese essay writing practice. The book How to Write Japanese Essays comes highly recommended and will train you to write in the formal academic style that is taught in Japan.

Japanese writing practice roundup

Which tools and resources do you use for Japanese writing practice? If you know any I’ve missed out, please share in the comments!

See these related posts for more useful resources to learn Japanese:

• Japanese Writing Paper: FREE Printable Blank Japanese Writing Sheets
• FREE Websites for Japanese Reading Practice (At Every Level)
• 10+ Effective Ways to Get Japanese Speaking Practice (Even if You Study By Yourself!)
• Where to get Your Japanese Listening Practice: The Epic List of Resources!
• The Ultimate List of Japanese Podcasts for Listening Practice (Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced)
• Best YouTube Channels to Learn Japanese {20+ Japanese YouTubers!}

Rebecca Shiraishi-Miles

Rebecca is the founder of Team Japanese. She spent two years teaching English in Ehime, Japan. Now back in the UK, she spends her time blogging, self-studying Japanese and wrangling a very genki toddler.

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Resource Guide for Japanese Language Students: Essays

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About This Page

This page introduces the variety of essays written by popular contemporary authors. Unless noted, all are in Japanese.

The author, さくらももこ, is known for writing a comic titled 『 ちびまる子ちゃん 』. The comic is based on her own childhood experiences and depicts the everyday life of a girl with a nickname of Chibi Maruko-chan. The author has been constantly writing casual and humorous essays, often recollecting her childhood memories. We have both the『 ちびまる子ちゃん 』 comic series and other essays by the author. 

To see a sample text in a new tab, please  click on the cover image or the title .

中島らも(1952-2004) started his career as a copyrigher but changed his path to become a prolific writer, publishing novels, essays, drama scripts and rakugo stories. He became popular with his "twisted sense of humour."  He is also active in the music industry when he formed his own band. He received the 13th Eiji Yoshikawa New Author Prize with his 『今夜、すべてのバーで』 and Mystery Writers of Japan Aaward with 『 ガダラの豚 』.

東海林（しょうじ）さだお

東海林さだお(1937-) is a well-known cartoonist, but he is also famous for his essays on food. His writing style is light and humorous and tends to pay particular attention toward regular food, such as bananas, miso soup, and eggd in udon noodles, rather than talk about gourmet meals. (added 5/2/2014)

Collection of Essays: 天声人語 = Vox Populi, Vox Deli (Bilingual)

A collection of essays which appear on the front page of Asahi Shinbun . Each essay is approx. 600 words. KU has collections published around 2000. Seach KU Online catalog with call number AC145 .T46 for more details. 

To see a sample text, please click on the cover image or the title .

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• 村上さんのところ "Mr. Murakami's Place" -- Haruki Murakami's Advice Column Part of Haruki Murakami's official site. He answers questions sent to this site. He will also take questions in English. Questions will be accepted until Jan. 31, 2015.

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Home » Articles » How to Write in Japanese — A Beginner’s Guide to Japanese Writing

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written by Caitlin Sacasas

Language: Japanese

Reading time: 13 minutes

Published: Apr 2, 2021

Updated: Oct 18, 2021

How to Write in Japanese — A Beginner’s Guide to Japanese Writing

Does the Japanese writing system intimidate you?

For most people, this seems like the hardest part of learning Japanese. How to write in Japanese is a bit more complex than some other languages. But there are ways to make it easier so you can master it!

Here at Fluent in 3 Months , we encourage actually speaking over intensive studying, reading, and listening. But writing is an active form of learning too, and crucial for Japanese. Japanese culture is deeply ingrained in its writing systems. If you can’t read or write it, you’ll struggle as you go along in your studies.

Some of the best Japanese textbooks expect you to master these writing systems… fast . For instance, the popular college textbook Genki , published by the Japan Times, expects you to master the basics in as little as a week. After that, they start to phase out the romanized versions of the word.

It’s also easy to mispronounce words when they’re romanized into English instead of the original writing system. If you have any experience learning how to write in Korean , then you know that romanization can vary and the way it reads isn’t often how it’s spoken.

Despite having three writing systems, there are benefits to it. Kanji, the “most difficult,” actually makes memorizing vocabulary easier!

So, learning to write in Japanese will go a long way in your language studies and help you to speak Japanese fast .

Why Does Japanese Have Three Writing Systems? A Brief Explainer

Japanese has three writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. The first two are collectively called kana and are the basics of writing in Japanese.

Writing Kana

If you think about English, we have two writing systems — print and cursive. Both print and cursive write out the same letters, but they look “sharp” and “curvy.” The same is true for kana. Hiragana is “curvy” and katakana is “sharp,” but they both represent the same Japanese alphabet (which is actually called a syllabary). They both represent sounds, or syllables, rather than single letters (except for vowels and “n”, hiragana ん or katakana ン). Hiragana and katakana serve two different purposes.

Hiragana is the most common, and the first taught to Japanese children. If this is all you learn, you would be understood (although you’d come across child-like). Hiragana is used for grammar functions, like changing conjugation or marking the subject of a sentence. Because of this, hiragana helps break up a sentence when combined with kanji. It makes it easier to tell where a word begins and ends, especially since Japanese doesn’t use spaces. It’s also used for furigana, which are small hiragana written next to kanji to help with the reading. You see furigana often in manga , Japanese comics, for younger audiences who haven’t yet learned to read all the kanji. (Or learners like us!)

Katakana serves to mark foreign words. When words from other languages are imported into Japanese, they’re often written in Japanese as close as possible to the original word. (Like how you can romanize Japanese into English, called romaji). For example, パン ( pan ) comes from Spanish, and means “bread.” Or from English, “smartphone” is スマートフォン ( suma-tofon ) or shortened, slang form スマホ ( sumaho ). Katakana can also be used to stylistically write a Japanese name, to write your own foreign name in Japanese, or to add emphasis to a word when writing.

Writing Kanji

Then there’s kanji. Kanji was imported from Chinese, and each character means a word, instead of a syllable or letter. 犬, read inu , means “dog.” And 食, read ta or shoku , means “food” or “to eat.” They combine with hiragana or other kanji to complete their meaning and define how you pronounce them.

So if you wanted to say “I’m eating,” you would say 食べます ( tabemasu ), where -bemasu completes the verb and puts it in grammatical tense using hiragana. If you wanted to say “Japanese food,” it would be 日本食 ( nipponshoku ), where it’s connected to other kanji.

If you didn’t have these three forms, it would make reading Japanese very difficult. The sentences would run together and it would be confusing. Like in this famous Japanese tongue twister: にわにはにわにわとりがいる, or romanized niwa ni wa niwa niwatori ga iru . But in kanji, it looks like 庭には二羽鶏がいる. The meaning? “There are chickens in the garden.” Thanks to the different writing systems, we know that the first niwa means garden, the second ni wa are the grammatical particles, the third niwa is to say there are at least two, and niwatori is “chickens.”

Japanese Pronunciation

Japanese has fewer sounds than English, and except for “r,” most of them are in the English language. So you should find most of the sounds easy to pick up!

Japanese has the same 5 vowels, but only 16 consonants. For the most part, all syllables consist of only a vowel, or a consonant plus a vowel. But there is the single “n,” and “sh,” “ts,” and “ch” sounds, as well as consonant + -ya/-yu/-yo sounds. I’ll explain this more in a minute.

Although Japanese has the same 5 vowel sounds, they only have one sound . Unlike English, there is no “long A” and “short A” sound. This makes it easy when reading kana because the sound never changes . So, once you learn how to write kana, you will always know how to pronounce it.

Here’s how the 5 vowels sound in Japanese:

• あ / ア: “ah” as in “latte”
• い / イ: “ee” as in “bee”
• う / ウ: “oo” as in “tooth”
• え / エ: “eh” as in “echo”
• お / オ: “oh” as in “open”

Even when combined with consonants, the sound of the vowel stays the same. Look at these examples:

• か / カ: “kah” as in “copy”
• ち / チ: “chi” as in “cheap”
• む / ム: “mu” as in “move”
• せ / セ: “se” as in “set”
• の / ノ: “no” as in “note”

Take a look at the entire syllabary chart:

Based on learning how to pronounce the vowels, can you pronounce the rest of the syllables? The hardest ones will be the R-row of sounds, “tsu,” “fu,” and “n.”

For “r” it sounds between an “r” and an “l” sound in English. Almost like the Spanish, actually. First, try saying “la, la, la.” Your tongue should push off of the back of your teeth to make this sound. Now say “rah, rah, rah.” Notice how your tongue pulls back to touch your back teeth. Now, say “dah, dah, dah.” That placement of your tongue to make the “d” sound is actually where you make the Japanese “r” sound. You gently push off of this spot on the roof of your mouth as you pull back your tongue like an English “r.”

“Tsu” blends together “t” and “s” in a way we don’t quite have in English. You push off the “t” sound, and should almost sound like the “s” is drawn out. The sound “fu” is so soft, and like a breath of air coming out. Think like a sigh, “phew.” It doesn’t sound like “who,” but a soft “f.” As for our lone consonant, “n” can sound like “n” or “m,” depending on the word.

Special Japanese Character Readings and How to Write Them

There are a few Japanese characters that combine with others to create more sounds. You’ll often see dakuten , which are double accent marks above the character on the right side ( ﾞ), and handakuten , which is a small circle on the right side ( ﾟ).

Here’s how dakuten affect the characters:

And handakuten are only used with the H-row characters, changing it from “h” to “p.” So か ( ka ) becomes が ( ga ), and ひ ( hi ) becomes either び ( bi ) or ぴ ( pi ).

A sokuon adds a small っ between two characters to double the consonant that follows it and make a “stop” in the word. In the saying いらっしゃいませ ( irasshaimase , “Welcome!”), the “rahs-shai” has a slight glottal pause where the “tsu” emphasizes the double “s.”

One of the special readings that tend to be mispronounced are the yoon characters. These characters add a small “y” row character to the other rows to blend the sounds together. These look like ちゃ ( cha ), きょ ( kyo ), and しゅ ( shu ). They’re added to the “i” column of kana characters.

An example of a common mispronunciation is “Tokyo.” It’s often said “Toh-key-yo,” but it’s actually only two syllables: “Toh-kyo.” The k and y are blended; there is no “ee” sound in the middle.

How to Read, Write, and Pronounce Kanji Characters

Here’s where things get tricky. Kanji, since it represents a whole word or idea, and combines with hiragana… It almost always has more than one way to read and pronounce it. And when it comes to writing them, they have a lot more to them.

Let’s start by breaking down the kanji a bit, shall we?

Most kanji consist of radicals, the basic elements or building blocks. For instance, 日 (“sun” or “day”) is a radical. So is 言 (“words” or “to say”) and 心 (“heart”). So when we see the kanji 曜, we see that “day” has been squished in this complex kanji. This kanji means “day of the week.” It’s in every weekday’s name: 月曜日 ( getsuyoubi , “Monday”), 火曜日 ( kayoubi , “Tuesday”), 水曜日 ( suiyoubi , “Wednesday”), etc.

When the kanji for “words” is mixed into another kanji, it usually has something to do with conversation or language. 日本語 ( nihongo ) is the word for “Japanese” and the final kanji 語 includes 言. And as for 心, it’s often in kanji related to expressing emotions and feelings, like 怒る ( okoru , “angry”) and 思う ( omou , “to think”).

In this way, some kanji make a lot of sense when we break them down like this. A good example is 妹 ( imouto ), the kanji for “little sister.” It’s made up of two radicals: 女, “woman,” and 未, “not yet.” She’s “not yet a woman,” because she’s your kid sister.

So why learn radicals? Because radicals make it easier to memorize, read, and write the kanji. By learning radicals, you can break the kanji down using mnemonics (like “not yet a woman” to remember imouto ). If you know each “part,” you’ll remember how to write it. 妹 has 7 strokes to it, but only 2 radicals. So instead of memorizing tons of tiny lines, memorize the parts.

As for pronouncing them, this is largely a memorization game. But here’s a pro-tip. Each kanji has “common” readings — often only one or two. Memorize how to read the kanji with common words that use them, and you’ll know how to read that kanji more often than not.

Japanese Writing: Stroke Order

So, I mentioned stroke order with kanji. But what is that? Stroke order is the proper sequence you use to write Japanese characters.

The rule of stroke order is you go from top to bottom, left to right.

This can still be confusing with some complex kanji, but again, radicals play a part here. You would break down each radical top left-most stroke to bottom right stroke, then move on to the next radical. A helpful resource is Jisho.org , which shows you how to properly write all the characters. Check out how to write the kanji for “kanji” as a perfect example of breaking down radicals.

When it comes to kana, stroke order still matters. Even though they’re simpler, proper stroke order makes your characters easier to read. And some characters rely on stroke order to tell them apart. Take シ and ツ:

[Shi and Tsu example]

If you didn’t use proper stroke order, these two katakana characters would look the same!

How to Memorize Japanese Kanji and Kana

When it comes to Japanese writing, practice makes perfect. Practice writing your sentences down in Japanese, every day. Practice filling in the kana syllabary chart for hiragana and katakana, until there are no blank boxes and you’ve got them all right.

Create mnemonics for both kanji and kana. Heisig’s method is one of the best ways to memorize how to write kanji with mnemonics. Using spaced repetition helps too, like Anki. Then you’re regularly seeing each character, and you can input your mnemonics into the note of the card so you have it as a reminder.

Another great way to practice is to write out words you already know. If you know mizu means “water,” then learn the kanji 水 and write it with the kanji every time from here on out. If you know the phrase おはようございます means “good morning,” practice writing in in kana every morning. That phrase alone gives you practice with 9 characters and two with dakuten! And try looking up loan words to practice katakana.

Tools to Help You with Japanese Writing

There are some fantastic resources out there to help you practice writing in Japanese. Here are a few to help you learn it fast:

• JapanesePod101 : Yes, JapanesePod101 is a podcast. But they often feature YouTube videos and have helpful PDFs that teach you kanji and kana! Plus, you’ll pick up all kinds of helpful cultural insights and grammar tips.
• LingQ : LingQ is chock full of reading material in Japanese, giving you plenty of exposure to kana, new kanji, and words. It uses spaced repetition to help you review.
• Skritter : Skritter is one of the best apps for Japanese writing. You can practice writing kanji on the app, and review them periodically so you don’t forget. It’s an incredible resource to keep up with your Japanese writing practice on the go.
• Scripts : From the creator of Drops, this app was designed specifically for learning languages with a different script from your own.

How to Type in Japanese

It’s actually quite simple to type in Japanese! On a PC, you can go to “Language Settings” and click “Add a preferred language.” Download Japanese — 日本語 — and make sure to move it below English. (Otherwise, it will change your laptop’s language to Japanese… Which can be an effective study tool , though!)

To start typing in Japanese, you would press the Windows key + space. Your keyboard will now be set to Japanese! You can type the romanized script, and it will show you the suggestions for kanji and kana. To easily change back and forth between Japanese and English, use the alt key + “~” key.

For Mac, you can go to “System Preferences”, then “Keyboard” and then click the “+” button to add and set Japanese. To toggle between languages, use the command key and space bar.

For mobile devices, it’s very similar. You’ll go to your settings, then language and input settings. Add the Japanese keyboard, and then you’ll be able to toggle back and forth when your typing from the keyboard!

Japanese Writing Isn’t Scary!

Japanese writing isn’t that bad. It does take practice, but it’s fun to write! It’s a beautiful script. So, don’t believe the old ideology that “three different writing systems will take thousands of hours to learn!” A different writing system shouldn’t scare you off. Each writing system has a purpose and makes sense once you start learning. They build on each other, so learning it gets easier as you go. Realistically, you could read a Japanese newspaper after only about two months of consistent studying and practice with kanji!

Caitlin Sacasas

Content Writer, Fluent in 3 Months

Caitlin is a copywriter, content strategist, and language learner. Besides languages, her passions are fitness, books, and Star Wars. Connect with her: Twitter | LinkedIn

Speaks: English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish

Have a 15-minute conversation in your new language after 90 days

• Draw it in the drawing area
• Type the name in the text area
• Look for it in the list
• Notice that 漢 is made of several components: 氵 艹 口 夫
• Draw any of these components (one at a time) in the drawing area, and select it when you see it
• Alternatively, look for a component in the list. 氵 艹 口 each have three strokes; 夫 has four strokes
• If you know the meanings of the components, type any of them in the text area: water (氵), grass (艹), mouth (口) or husband (夫)
• Keep adding components until you can see your kanji in the list of matches that appears near the top.
• Draw a component in the center of the area, as large as you can
• Try to draw the component as it appears in the kanji you're looking up
• Don't worry about stroke order or number of strokes
• Don't draw more than one component at a time

Joy o' Kanji - Individual Kanji Essays and Thematic Bundles

• Study all kanji in the collection immediately with Quick Study
• Create Flashcards for the kanji to study with Kanshudo's spaced repetition flashcard system
• View your current Kanji Mastery level for each kanji, as well as a quick summary of readings and meanings
• Download the kanji with readings and meanings for study offline or in another flashcard program

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9 Japanese Writing Exercises for Creative Language Practice

Writing is one of the most important skills you can learn in Japanese.

It involves creating your own sentences with all the Japanese words and grammar you’ve learned so far.

So how can you practice your writing skills in a way that’s fun, stimulating and rewarding ?

The best answer I’ve found so far is doing unique Japanese writing exercises, especially if you do so in a journal specifically for that purpose.

Read on for my nine favorite Japanese writing practice activities !

1. The New Character Challenge

2. the daily journal entry challenge, 3. the character count challenge, 4. the show and tell challenge, 5. the letter challenge, 6. the review challenge, 7. the recipe challenge, 8. the diary challenge, 9. the memory challenge, why use a journal for japanese writing exercises, how to practice japanese handwriting, and one more thing....

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Chances are that you have a reasonably concrete study schedule set in place by now. (If not, start here !) That means you should be learning new characters—or at least seeing them pop up in your study materials—quite frequently.

What better way is there to reinforce your character studies than to practice using them?

Try keeping a record of this week’s (or this month’s) new characters. These could be hiragana, katakana or kanji, depending on your current level.

Then, use each new character at least once , in context, in your Japanese notebook or journal. The more you use them, the better!

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

Try FluentU for FREE!

Write a journal entry every day for a week .

This could be about anything. Something you did that day, something you learned in Japanese class, something you want to do in the future, a conversation you had with a friend… the possibilities are endless!

Even if things are pretty routine and dull during the week, keep track of what you do, think, feel, see or even dream.

Then, knuckle down and write seven entries in seven days. Try writing at the same time every day to get into the habit of doing it.

If you’re feeling up to an extra challenge, try to keep this going for an additional week, for a whole month or indefinitely.

Set yourself a character minimum for your journal entry for that day.

Decide how many characters you’re going to write. This will vary depending on your current Japanese skill level and your quantity of available time.

Start with 100 (yes! It’s supposed to be a challenge). If you plan on writing in mostly hiragana and katakana , increase your character count a little. One kanji character is sometimes equal to two or even three kana letters.

Then, increase your character minimum the next time to 200, then 250, then 300… You get the picture. You’ll get to know your own limits as you go.

This challenge is extremely difficult for some—particularly anyone who would say they’re shy or a perfectionist. You’ve got to show your journal (or at least an entry or two) to your Japanese friends for proofreading and checking.

Try not to be shy! Find a native or fluent Japanese speaker who would be willing to read your writing. Their feedback will help you figure out and improve on any mistakes you’ve made.

Not only will your reader point you in the right direction with things you’re struggling with, but they’ll most likely be very impressed with your effort and praise you on your strengths, too!

If you don’t have any Japanese friends or acquaintances, you can check out some online platforms where you’ll likely find some people who would be more than happy to check for you.

You can also use italki to find a Japanese tutor and ask them to go through your writing and offer constructive criticism .

Maybe you’re all on board to try the above challenges, but there’s one little problem—you have no clue what to write!

If that’s the case, this challenge (and the next ones) will help give you more guidance and spark your creativity.

In the letter challenge, the idea is to try writing a heartfelt letter in Japanese to one of your friends (or family members, if applicable). This could be a great way to practice using Japanese honorifics .

You can also practice writing formal letters (perhaps to practice for applying to Japanese-speaking jobs) and using keigo , the most polite form of Japanese.

Or, you can simply write a casual letter to a friend who can speak Japanese. It’ll be motivating knowing that they’ll be able to read it when you’re done.

Think about a recent book , manga , movie  or anime you’ve watched recently, then write about what you thought of it .

If you choose to write about something from your home country, bear in mind your review might be one of just a few in Japanese—perhaps even the very first!

Do you write a personal blog? Reviews are great blogging content. You might end up with a huge Japanese following!

Need more things to review? Treat yourself to a one-time   Kawaii Box , or sign up for a monthly subscription. You’ll get ten adorable Japanese items in each box, ranging from yummy little snacks to toys and pencil cases, which gives you ample things to write about.

This Japanese writing exercise will give you the chance to practice descriptive adjectives . You should aim to use a good number of these in your writing—try setting a personal goal before you start.

It’s always nice when your Japanese studies can link you with delicious food .

So, choose your favorite dish—it’s totally fine to pick one native to your own country. Now, in your Japanese notebook, describe the flavors and ingredients of the dish . Talk about any customs surrounding it or seasonal consumption, if applicable.

Write out a recipe for how to prepare your dish in Japanese. It can be as complicated or as simple as you like, depending on the dish and your language level.

This is a great way to practice using imperatives and the ～てください / ～でください form.

This is a good challenge to combine with the daily writing challenge in #2. Write a simple diary entry of your day or an event you recently went to. 

The diary challenge is especially good if you’re an intermediate level learner and you’re doing something exciting that week that you can write about, such as going on vacation.

However, there’s no problem with choosing a fairly normal event (going to school, work, etc.). Those are things you probably talk about often, anyway, which means you’ll get good practice with useful vocabulary and common grammar points .

In fact, this is a great way to get grammar practice or review in: You can practice tenses, adjectives, prepositions and anything else you learned recently.

Up for a chance to test yourself?

Open two blank pages of your notebook, preferably side by side. On the left page, write a journal entry by yourself, with no assistance —no using a dictionary and no asking for help. If you’re writing kanji, don’t check the shape or stroke order!

When you’ve finished, check it yourself or with a friend. Then, on the right-hand page, rewrite it neatly with any corrections. Essentially, the left page is your “draft” piece, and the right page is your “final” piece.

In this format, it will be easier to see where there’s room for improvement. Beyond meaning and usage, pay special attention to any mistakes you’ve made in the shape or size of the characters.

This exercise will get you used to writing from memory and will also improve your writing confidence . If you do this practice more than once (which you should!), you’ll eventually be able to see a clear line of your progress.

First of all, the best way to improve your writing is by writing. A lot.

Keeping a journal gives you a designated place to store your writing . You don’t have to hunt for spare paper or take up precious space in your actual learning notebook.

Any notebook can be a writing journal, but a high quality one with lots of pages will work especially well. I recommend buying something you’d be proud to show off to people, so you can get native speaker feedback on your work.

Having a specific notebook can also help you get into the habit of doing Japanese writing exercises every day . Practicing your writing often will improve your writing speed, as well as your grammar and  vocabulary , too.

What’s more, a writing journal is a wonderful tool for tracking language learning progress . By keeping a notebook and writing in it consistently, you’ll be able to actually see improvement in your writing skills as time goes on.

Eventually, your journal will also become a resource for you to reference . Have you forgotten some old kanji? Do you need to brush up on a certain grammar concept? No worries. You just have to flip back and have a look at previous entries.

So, once you have your ideal notebook, you should:

• Decide how much time you’re going to dedicate to journal-writing. Start with 30 minutes a week, and expand on it later.
• Decide on a topic, or a certain type of writing. Use any or all of the ideas above for guidance!
• Keep it simple at the beginning. Use grammar and vocabulary you know well—perhaps fill the first page with a self-introduction. Build up your confidence.
• Keep at it! Practice using hiragana and katakana, then work yourself up to kanji. Start covering more complex topics as well.

Whatever you do, just keep writing !

Writing in a physical journal, as suggested, is a great way to improve your Japanese handwriting.

It can especially help you learn kanji and stroke order , if you’re at that level, but you can also use kanji apps to get more guided practice in.

You can do further Japanese writing exercises right on your device (using your finger, mouse or digital pen) with the guided lessons on Kakimashou . You can also use a physical resource such as this writing practice book , which includes how-to information and grid sheets for you to practice hiragana, katakana and kanji.

Even if you don’t want to use something so specific, just writing in your notebook often will help you refine your Japanese handwriting abilities. You can check over previous entries for places you can improve, or have your native reviewer give you some feedback and tips.

Either way, you’ll have a deeper understanding of the characters and you’ll remember them better when you need them in other situations.

So what are you waiting for?

Try out the above nine challenges to really bring your Japanese writing practice to its best possible level—but remember that you can make them your own as well. Allow yourself to be inspired.

Have fun, and good luck!

If you love learning Japanese with authentic materials, then I should also tell you more about FluentU .

FluentU naturally and gradually eases you into learning Japanese language and culture. You'll learn real Japanese as it's spoken in real life.

FluentU has a broad range of contemporary videos as you'll see below:

FluentU makes these native Japanese videos approachable through interactive transcripts. Tap on any word to look it up instantly.

All definitions have multiple examples, and they're written for Japanese learners like you. Tap to add words you'd like to review to a vocab list.

And FluentU has a learn mode which turns every video into a language learning lesson. You can always swipe left or right to see more examples.

The best part? FluentU keeps track of your vocabulary, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You'll have a 100% personalized experience.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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100 Essential Japanese Phrases and Words You WILL Use

These 100 Japanese phrases are a great starting point for communicating with people from Japan. Knowing these common phrases can help you while traveling, working, or even making friends in Japan. Even advanced students of Japanese may pick up a thing or two from this list!

Self-Introduction Key Phrases

Common ways to get someone’s attention, common ways to apologize, common phrases for shopping, common phrases for restaurants, common phrases when visiting someone at their home, phrases for traveling in japan, common japanese phrases for the workplace, common phrases for visiting someone who is not feeling well, useful words to agree/disagree , commonly used adjectives, basic japanese greetings .

If you work or go to school in Japan, you will 100% be asked to do a self-introduction of yourself at some point. These phrases are great for covering the basics.

 1. はじめまして。 (Hajimemashite . ): Nice to meet you.

A standard phrase for meeting someone for the first time. Usually, you’ll say phrases #2 and #3 after saying はじめまして ( hajimemashite ).

2. 私の名前は (Name) といいます。 (Watashi no namae wa (name) to iimasu.): My name is …

If you are a woman, a girl, or a mature person, 私 ( watashi ) will sound natural. If you are a boy, 僕 ( boku ) sounds better: 僕の名前は … といいます ( boku no namae wa … to ii masu )

3 . (Name) と申します。 ( (Name) to mōshimasu.): I am (name).

A humble and polite way to introduce yourself.  

4. どうぞよろしく。 (Dōzo yoroshiku . ): Pleased to meet you.

The nuance of this phrase is closer to “Please take care of me.” This is because you are “asking for their favor” (to become friends, for their help, etc.) in the future.  

どうぞよろしく ( dōzo yoroshiku ) is casual; どうぞよろしくお願いします ( dōzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu ) is more polite and formal.

よろしく ( yoroshiku ) is a very commonly used word that means “please” or “please treat me favorably.” A polite version of this, よろしくお願いします ( yoroshiku onegai shimasu ) , is often said when you ask someone for help, work together with someone, or meeting someone for the first time. See #74 on this list for more details. 

5.   (Place) から来ました。   ( (Place) kara kimashita.): I’m from (place).

You can use this to say which country you’re from, your company name, or even an area you previously lived in.  

6.   (Hometown/School) 出身です。( (Hometown/school) shusshin desu.): I’m from …. (hometown/school)

出身 ( shusshin ) describes your place of origin. This can be the country, city, or town you’re from, or it can be a school you graduated from.

7. お会いできて光栄です。(Oai dekite kōei desu.): I’m honored to meet you.

This phrase is formal and usually used in business situations. Children would never use this phrase. When adults use it, it does sound formal, but elegant.

 8. 今後ともどうぞよろしく。(Kongo tomo dōzo yoroshiku.): I look forward to working with you/getting to know you.

At the end of a conversation, Japanese people often say 今後ともどうぞよろしく( Kongo tomo dōzo yoroshiku ) or the more formal 今後ともどうぞよろしくお願いします ( Kongo tomo dōzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu ) in business settings (to business partners or customers).

The nuance of this statement is something like, “Please treat me favorably from now on.” which implies that you plan on getting to know them more in the future. This makes it a natural way to end your introduction.  

Here are some words you can use to gain someone’s attention or to gently break into a conversation with someone.

9. あの。。。 (Ano…): Excuse me…  

When you want to get someone’s attention, you may start with あの ( ano ). It has a nuance of saying “hello” before asking someone for something (as in, “Hello. I was wondering if you could tell me how to get to the station.”)

 10. ちょっと。 (Chotto): Excuse me./Hey.

ちょっと ( chotto ) is also a very common term to start a conversation. However, unlike あの ( ano ) described above, ちょっと is better used when you already have someone’s attention. 

Using ちょっと can also be seen as strong or even rude. Sometimes Japanese people say this word twice: ちょっとちょっと ( chotto chotto ). This can be a frank and slightly suspicious way of saying, “Excuse me?” Or it can be said when you’re frustrated with someone and want to say, “Give me a break already.”

11. ちょっといいですか？ (Chotto ii desu ka?): Can you help me?

This phrase is often used when you want to ask someone for help. ちょっと ( chotto ) “little” or “just a bit.” So the nuance is similar to “Could I have a second of your time?”

12. すみません。(Sumimasen.): Excuse me./I’m Sorry./Thank You.

You may have heard すみません ( sumimasen ) means “I apologize.” However, this term is also used to get someone’s attention (Excuse me.). 

It can even mean “Thank you” in certain situations. If you want to learn all about すみません ( sumimasen ), check out our guide here: What Does Sumimasen Mean?

13. 申し訳ありませんが 。。。 (Mōshi wake arimasen ga…): I’m sorry, but…

If you have a question or request that will take up someone’s time or effort (i.e., bother or cause trouble to someone) 申し訳ありませんが … ( m ō shi wake arimasen ga… ) is a polite way to ease into your request. 

If you happen to make a mistake or want to express that you are sorry , these phrases will help you out.

14. ごめんなさい。 (Gomennasai.): I’m sorry.

Along with すみません ( sumimasen ) listed above, ごめんなさい ( gomennasai ) is a very common way to apologize to someone. You can use it in most situations ranging from accidently bumping into someone while walking or making a mistake a work. A more casual version is ごめん ( gomen ), which also means “I’m sorry” but should only be used in casual situations.

15. 申し訳ありません。 (Mōshi wake arimasen.) : I am sorry.

Along with すみません ( sumimasen ) and ごめんなさい ( gomennasai ), 申し訳ありません ( mōshi wake arimasen ) also means “I’m sorry.” However, 申し訳ありません is much more formal and apologetic.  It has a nuance of “I’m very sorry.  It’s inexcusable.”  You can use phrases #15 and #16 below after saying 申し訳ありません to expresses more sincerity. 

16. 私のせいです。 (Watashi no sei desu.): It’s my fault.

Boys can use 僕 ( boku ) instead of 私 ( watashi ).  This phrase is used to take responsibility for something that you did.  It is often said after saying an apology ( sumimasen , gomennasai , or mōshi wake arimasen listed above).  After saying this phrase, you could also follow it up with 反省してます ( hansei shitemasu ), which means “I regret (realize) my mistake.”

If you make a mistake in Japan, you should do 反省 ( hansei ). 反省する ( hansei suru ) means to contemplate or reflect on what you did wrong so that you won’t make that mistake again.   

Japanese has so many cool, delicious, and interesting things to buy, so be sure to remember all of these phrases for your next shopping spree!

17. これをください。 (Kore o kudasai.): Please give it to me.

これをください is the full, grammatical phrase, but it is very common to drop the particle を ( o ) and just say これください (kore kudasai).  When you’re at a store, you can point to an item you want and say これください ( kore kudasai ) to buy it.  

18. こちらでよろしいですか？ (Kochira de yoroshii desu ka?): Is this item okay?

The sales clerk may ask you this question when paying for an item. This is to confirm that the item you’re buying is the right one or to check if this item is okay with you.  

19. おいくらですか？ (Oikura desu ka?): How much is this?

The casual form of this phrase is いくらですか？ ( Ikura desu ka? ). Adding the “o” in front of いくら ( ikura ) makes it more polite. We recommend using the polite version, as it sounds much nicer when speaking to people you don’t know well.   

20. クレジットカードは使えますか？ (Kurejitto kādo wa tsukaemasu ka?): Can I use my credit card?

If the store only accepts cash, there may be signs that say, “現金のみ ( genkin nomi ), meaning “cash only.” Just to be sure, you can use this phrase to check if they take credit cards.  

If you want to ask the sales clerk about using a credit card from a specific country, you can put use this phrase:  

{Country name} のクレジットカードは使えますか？ {Country name} no kurejitto kādo wa tsukaemasu ka?

アメリカのクレジットカードは使えますか？ (Amerika no kurejitto kādo wa tsukaemasu ka? ) Can I use an American credit card?

21. レシートください。(Reshīto kudasai.): Please give me a receipt.

In Japan, there are two types of receipts you might come across.  The first, and by far the most common, is a receipt that a cash register or credit card machine prints out as proof of your payment.  You’ll get this type of receipt when you buy things from the store, go to restaurants, or stay at modern hotels.  

The second type of receipt in Japan is called 領収書をください ( ryōsyūsho ).  This is also proof of payment, but it is much more formal and is often written by hand.  It also has your name or organization on it and is commonly used for claiming expenses.  

If you are casually shopping, eating at restaurants, or paying for services in Japan, you most likely will need a simple レシート ( reshīto ) and not a 領収書 ( ryōsyūsho ).

Master these phrases so you can use them to try amazing foods in Japan! Check out our “ How to Order Food in Japanese ” guide to learn how to navigate Japanese restaurants in more detail.

22. 空いてますか？ (Aitemasu ka?): Is (this seat) available?

If you’re at a food court or somewhere else with public seating, you can use the phrase, “空いてますか？ ( aitemasu ka? )” to ask someone if the seat next to them is available.  

Even though the word “seat” (席 – seki ) is not in this phrase, its meaning is implied.  

Note: If you want to ask if a restaurant (or store) is open for business, you can use the same phrase (same words and pronunciation). However, the kanji used for this meaning will change to “開いてますか？ ( aitemasu ka? ) = Are you open?”

23. 何名様ですか？ (Nanmei sama desu ka?): How many people in your party?

A standard question that you will be asked when you enter a restaurant. If you are unsure how to answer this question, you can use your fingers to show how many people are in your party. If you want to learn more about numbers and how to count in Japanese, check out our “ How to Count in Japanese ” guide.  

 24. 少々お待ちください。 (Shōshou omachi kudasai.): Please wait a second.

This is a common phrase in any customer service-related business. You may have already heard the expression, “ ちょっと待って ( chotto matte ) ,” which means “hold on a second.” 

少々お待ちください ( Sh ō shou omachi kudasai ) is a much politer way to ask someone to wait. You’ll hear it all the time in stores and restaurants.  

25. お決まりですか？ (Okimari desu ka?): Have you decided (on your order)?

A waiter or waitress may use this phrase to ask you if you are ready to order.  

If you need more time to decide, you can say, まだです ( mada desu ), which means “not yet.”

26. かしこまりました。 (Kashikomarimashita.): Understood.

When you give your order to the server, they often say this. This is a polite way to say, “Understood/Got it.”

27. お待たせしました。 (Omatase shimashita): Thank you for waiting.

お待たせしました ( omatase shimashita ) literally means, “I’ve kept you waiting.” However, it is said using polite language, so the nuance comes off as “sorry to have kept you waiting” or “thank you for waiting.”

28. いただきます。 (Itadakimasu): I’ll humbly receive this meal.

いただきます is the humble verb that means “to receive.” This word is said before starting every meal to show appreciation for all the work and ingredients that went into making it. It doesn’t matter if you’re eating in a 3-star Michelin restaurant or if you are sharing a bag of potato chips with your friend. 

Check out our guide on Itadakimasu to learn more.  

29. ご馳走様でした。 (Gochisō sama deshita): Thank you very much (for the food).

When you finish eating, you should say, ご馳走様でした ( gochis ō sama deshita ) to show your appreciation to the person who cooked and even to the nature that provided the food for you. This is also used when someone buys or gives you food.  

Note: If someone brings you lunch or food, you can also use this phrase in the present tense to show you appreciation: ご馳走様です ( gochis ō sama desu ).

30. おいしかったです。 (Oishikatta desu): It was delicious.

Using the copula です ( desu ) shows your politeness. Children or close friends often just say, おいしかった ( oishikatta ). It’s a very common word to say at the end of a meal.  

31. おかわりしたいです。 (Okawari shitai desu.): I would love seconds/another helping. 

おかわり( okawari ) means “refill” or “another helping.” A casual way to say this phrase would be to say, おかわり！ ( okawari! ): I want more!

32.   ~ は食べられません。 (~wa taberaremasen): I cannot eat ~

If you have any foods you don’t like or can’t eat, you can use this phrase.

If you have any food allergies, you can say アレルギーがあるので ( arerugī ga aru node ) before this phrase:  

アレルギーがあるので~は食べられません。 ( Arerugī ga aru node ~ wa taberaremasen. ) I have allergies, so I can’t eat ~.

33.   ~ は大好物です。 (~ wa daikōbutsu desu.): ~ is my favorite food.

The most common way to use 大好物 ( daikōbutsu ) is with food, but this term is also used to describe your favorite things.

34 . ~ は苦手です。 (~ wa nigate desu.): I’m not good at ~.

When talking about food, “ ~ は苦手です ( ~ wa nigate desu )” is an indirect way to say, “好きじゃありません ( suki ja arimasen ),” I don’t like it.

35. お会計お願いします。 (Okaikei onegai shimasu.): Check, please.

When you’re done with your meal, you say this phrase when you want the check. In most casual restaurants in Japan, the wait staff will leave your check on your table, which you take to the register near the entrance of the restaurant. Some restaurants will not leave the check on the table unless you ask for it.  

You can also use this phrase in stores.  

These phrases can generally be used in most situations where you enter someone’s private space. This could include places like someone’s apartment, room, or office.

36. お邪魔します。 (Ojama shimasu.): Pardon my intrusion.

You’ll say this phrase before entering someone’s house, office, or room. It is even used when you need to interrupt someone’s conversation.

Saying お邪魔します is considered polite and something you should say before entering into someone’s personal space.  

37. 素敵な~ですね。 (Suteki na ~ desu ne.): ~ {thing} looks so nice.

Japanese people often compliment something when entering someone’s house or room.  

38. つまらないものですが。 (Tsumaranai mono desu ga.): This is not much, but…

When Japanese people visit someone’s house, they often bring a gift called お土産 ( omiyage ) .  When they hand their gift to someone, they often say this phrase. つまらない ( tsumaranai ) means “boring” or “insignificant” while もの ( mono ) means “thing.” So this phrase has a nuance of, “This is an insignificant thing, but I hope you’ll like it.”

This is one of the traditional humble ways to show your appreciation in Japan.

39. 楽しかったです。 (Tanoshikatta desu.): It was fun.

This is a very common phrase used at the end of your visit or event (like a date). Just like in English-speaking countries, people sometimes say it even if they were bored, just to be polite.  

40. では、失礼します。 (Dewa shitsurei shimasu.): I’ll be on my way.

This is a polite, business-style way to say goodbye.  

Note: In a business situation, people use 失礼します ( shitsurei shimasu ) to enter the room. In this case, it means “Sorry for the intrusion/ interrupting/bothering/disturbing you.”

These are simple phrases to use when you’re exploring Japan and might need some help with directions.

41. お先にどうぞ。 (Osaki ni dōzo.): Please go ahead.

When you want someone to go ahead of you (when you are waiting in line, boarding the train, etc.), this is the phrase you’ll want to say.  

42.   ~ はどこですか？ (~ wa doko desu ka?): Where is ~?

This phrase can be used when you want to ask someone where a particular building, store, or train station is (or anything really).  

If you’re asking a random stranger on the street, going up to them and asking, “where is the station?” might be too straightforward. To be more polite, you can use this phrase:

すみません。~はどこにあるかご存知でしょうか？ ( Sumimasen. ~ wa doko ni aru ka gozonji deshō ka? ) Excuse me. Would you happen to know where ~ is?

43. ~への行き方を教えてください。 (~ e no ikikata o oshiete kudasai.): Please tell me how to get to ~.

A useful phrase that you can use to ask train station/information booth employees when you’re lost. For example:

USJへの行き方を教えてください。 ( USJ e no ikikata o oshiete kudasai. ) Please tell me how to get to USJ (Universal Studios Japan).

If you work in Japan , these are some of the phrases you’ll be sure to hear (and use).

44. 今日はバタバタしてます。 (Kyō wa batabata shite imasu.): I have many things to do today.

When someone is very busy, Japanese people use the word バタバタ ( bata bata ), which is an onomatopoeia for a flapping (like a bird’s wings) sound. When people are extremely busy, it’s like they are flapping their wings wildly like birds.  

45. 行ってきます。 (Itte kimasu): I’m heading out now (and I’ll be back).

When people leave their office, home, or anywhere, they say 行ってきます ( itte kimasu ) . This literally means “I’m going and coming back.” It’s like saying “see you later” in English. In response to this, you can say 行ってらっしゃい ( itterasshai ), which means “see you” or “have a good day.”  

46. ただいま戻りました。 (Tadaima modorimashita.): I’m back now.

This is a polite way to say, “I’m back.” The more casual (and common) way is to say “ ただいま ( tadaima ) ,” which means “I’m back.”  

47. 残業します。 (Zangyō shimasu.): I’ll work overtime.  

残業 ( zangy ō), or working overtime, is very common in Japan. If you are working off the clock and not being paid, people call this unpaid overtime サービス残業 ( sābisu zangy ō).

48. お先に失礼します。 (Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu.): I’m going home (excuse me for leaving early).  

When you’re leaving your workplace to go home , you say this phrase to the other people who are still working. This phrase means, “I’m leaving now, so pardon me for leaving before you.”

49. お疲れ様でした。 (Otsukare sama deshita.): Thank you for your (hard) work.

You say this phrase at work when someone leaves. You can say this in response to お先に失礼します ( Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu ). This phrase is supposed to be used by someone of higher status (aka your boss) to people of lower status. However, it is usually said by everyone in the workplace, regardless of status. Just keep in mind that some people care about social status/rules more than others. You could also say, また明日 ( mata ashita ), see you tomorrow.

If someone you know gets sick or has an injury , you may want to visit them at the hospital or at their home. These are common phrases used in this situation.

50. お加減いかがですか？   (Okagen ikaga desu ka?): How are you feeling?

This phrase is typically used to start a conversation with someone who hasn’t been feeling well.  

51. お陰様でなんとか。 (Okage sama de nantoka.): I’m feeling alright, thanks.

One of the common answers to the question above: お加減いかがですか？   ( Okagen ikaga desu ka? ).  

The nuance of this phrase is similar to “I’m getting by, thanks.”  

52. 痛い。 (Itai): It hurts.

Said when you feel physical pain.  

53. 苦しい。 (Kurushii): It’s tough.

苦しい ( kurushii ) can mean that your situation is difficult or that something is physically painful or mentally straining/tough.  

54. 気分がよくなりました。 (Kibun ga yoku narimashita.): I feel much better.

This phrase describes how you feel emotionally (mood) more than your physical condition. However, when you recover from an illness, you feel great, making this a common expression to use when you’re feeling better.  

55. すっかり治りました。 (Sukkari naorimashita): I made a complete recovery.

When talking about your physical body being cured or healing, the kanji above is used 治る ( naoru ): to be cured, to recover. However, the same word is also used to describe fixing things or repairing inanimate objects (like a TV, computer, etc.). To talk about an inanimate object being fixed or repaired, a different kanji is used – 直る ( naoru ): to be repaired, to be fixed.

56. 早く良くなるといいですね。 (Hayaku yoku naru to ii desu ne.): I hope you feel better soon.

A standard phrase to say to someone who doesn’t feel well.  

Another super common expression is お大事に ( odaiji ni ), which means “take care of yourself.”

57. 無理しないでください。 (Muri shinai de kudasai): Don’t push yourself too hard.

This is also a common phrase to tell someone to “take it easy.” It is commonly used when people are not feeling well or are working too hard.  

These are some of the simplest words in Japanese but the most useful. You will hear and use these words multiple times a day, especially if you work or go to school in Japan.

58. はい。 (Hai.): Yes.

The standard and formal way to say “yes.”

59. そうです。 (Sou desu.): That’s right.

A super common phrase to give confirmation to someone. This phrase literally means “It/That is so.”  In conversation, it means “That’s right” or “That’s correct.”

60. ええ。 (Ee.): Yes.

This is another way to say “yes” in Japanese. ええ ( ee ) is neither formal nor extremely casual (but more casual than はい ( hai ) listed above). ええ is often used in business circumstances or between people who don’t know each other well.  

61. わかりました。 (Wakarimashita.): I understand.

This is a must-know word used everywhere: at the workplace, in stores, with strangers, etc. It is said when you want to confirm that you understand a situation or information that someone told you.  

62. 了解しました。 (Ryōkai shimashita.): I got it. / Roger

This is more businesslike than わかりました ( wakarimashita ) listed above.  

63. いいですね。 (Ii desu ne.): Sounds good. / It looks good.

This phrase is typically said when agreeing with someone. For example, if someone comes up with a good idea that you like, you can say いいですね。- Hey, that sounds good!  

64. いいえ。 (Iie.): No.

This is the textbook word for “no” in Japanese. You usually learn this word the first day you start studying Japanese. However, due to its formal and direct nature, saying いいえ ( iie ) is pretty rare . Using いいえ to disagree with someone, or even just to answer a simple yes/no question, sounds too strong. It can even come off as a little rude. いいえ is mainly reserved for very formal settings.

65. 違います。 (Chigaimasu.): That’s not right/incorrect.

違います (c higaimasu ) is a much more natural way to tell someone “no” or that something isn’t correct. For example, if you are sitting on the train and someone approaches you to ask, “Excuse me, are you John’s brother?”  

Since you are not John’s brother, you can simply say 違います to mean, “No, I’m not.”  

66. いや。 (Iya): Oh well. / No.

When people point out that something is wrong or disagree with things, they often start the sentence with いや ( iya ), such as いや、違います ( iya, chigaimasu ). This reinforces the meaning of “no, that is not correct” without sounding too harsh. 

However, いや can also mean “disagreement.” Little kids often say “いやいや！” when they are throwing a temper tantrum. As an adult, you can say いや when you want to say that you don’t like something directly (see #67 below for more details).

67. 嫌です。 (Iya desu.): I don’t want to do it. / I don’t like it.  

Saying 嫌です ( iya desu ) directly tells someone that you don’t like (or hate) something. For example, if your friend wants you to go out on a date with someone you really can’t stand, you can tell them, いやだよ ( iya dayo )！” to mean, “No way! I don’t want to!”

68. やります。 (Yarimasu.): I’ll do it.

This word can be used when you want to say that you’ll do something. For example, imagine you are at work. Your boss asks for volunteers to help with a new project. If you want to step up and help, you can tell your boss, “やります。” The negative form of this word is やりません ( yarimasen ), which means “I won’t do.”

69. できます。 (Dekimasu.): I can do it.

It is used when you want to say that you are able to do something.  

For example:

Boss: “Can you finish this report by 5 pm today?” You: はい、できます。 ( Hai, dekimasu. ) Yes, I can.  

The negative form of this word is できません ( dekimasen ), which means “I can’t do it.” 

70. 大丈夫。 (Daijōbu.): (It’s) okay.

This is another must-know word in Japanese. You can use it to say that you are okay or a situation is under control. If you trip and fall, people might ask you if you are okay. You can tell them “大丈夫 ( daijōbu )” to let them know you are okay.  

It can also be used to decline things. For example, if you’re at the supermarket and the cashier asks you if you need a bag, you can say “いや大丈夫です” ( iya daijōbu desu ) to say that you don’t need one.  

大丈夫 ( daijōbu ) is used to describe both a situation or your physical condition.

71. 平気です。 (Heiki desu.): I’m okay. / It’s all good.  

This usually describes your mental condition or feeling. For example, if you’re at a theme park and someone asks how you feel about roller coasters, you can say 平気です ( heiki desu ) if you have no problem riding them.  

Or, if you’re calm in a stressful situation (like evacuating a building that’s on fire), you can tell someone 平気です to say that you are cool as a cucumber.  

72. 無理です。 (Muri desu.): That’s impossible/unreasonable.  

When someone asks you for something that you don’t want or can’t do, you can tell them 無理です ( muri desu ).  

For example, if a guy goes up to a girl to ask her for her number, she can say “無理です” to reject him. This phrase is not rude if said in a normal, “matter-of-fact” way. Instead, it lets someone know that you cannot accept their request. It would be similar to saying “I can’t” in English.  

Of course, if you said it forcefully, as in “無理です！” this changes the nuance to something like “no way!” in English.  

73. 問題ありません。 (Mondai arimasen.): No problem.

If someone asks you something that you don’t have any problems with, you can tell them 問題ありません ( mondai arimasen ). This phrase is also used when talking about the status of things. For example, if your boss asks you if you can complete the project by next week, you can tell them 問題ありません to say that it’s no problem at all .  

Here are some polite phrases when you need to ask someone to do something.

74. お願いします。 (Onegai shimasu.): Please.

Whenever you ask someone to do something, saying お願いします ( onegai shimasu ) is polite and natural. You’ll also hear this phrase being said between people who will start to work with each other. In this case, お願いします is a shortened version of よろしくお願いします ( yoroshiku onegai shimasu – #4 on this list) .  

75. お願いできますか？   (Onegai dekimasu ka?): Could you do this for me?

This is a gentle and polite way to ask a favor from someone. A more friendly/casual way to ask this is, “やってくれる？ ( yatte kureru? ).”

76. 頼みます。 (Tanomimasu.): I’ll ask you to do it.

頼みます ( tanomimasu ) means “to request” or “to rely on.” When you tell someone 頼みます, you are relying on them to do something for you. It’s like saying “I’ll count on you (to do it)” in English.

77. 急いでください。 (Isoide kudasai.): Please hurry up.

This is a polite way to ask someone to hurry up and do something more quickly.  

78. やめてください。 (Yamete kudasai.):  Please stop it.  

This phrase is useful in many situations.  If someone is bothering you, or doing something that you want them to stop, you can say  やめてください ( yamete kudasai ).  やめて ( yamete ) comes from the verb やめる ( yameru ), which can mean “to stop, to quit, to cancel, or to be sick.”  There are different kanji characters for each meaning of やめる as show below: 

• 止める: To stop, to cancel
• 辞める: To quit, to resign
• 病める: Sick, to be ill

You’ll hear this phrase often  in movies, anime, and in conversations with native speakers.

Here are some useful adjectives for describing things and situations you may encounter.

79. うるさい (Urusai): Noisy, loud

うるさい ( urusai ) describes something that is annoyingly loud or noisy. If you say it forcefully or angrily, it can also mean “shut up!”  

Check out our guide on うるさい to learn more about it:  Urusai: Does It Really Mean Shut Up?

80. 仕方ない。 (Shikata nai.): There is no way. / Can’t be helped.

If something happens that you don’t have control over, you can say this phrase. It has a nuance of, “well, nothing can be done about it, so there’s no sense in crying over spilled milk.”

81. もったいない (Mottainai): Wasteful.

This phrase is similar to the English expression, “what a waste.” It can describe wasting material things like food or money but can also describe abstract things like talent.  

82. 大切 (Taisetsu): Precious

大切 ( taisetsu ) describes something precious and valuable or something that you cherish.  It can be used to describe people or things you love.

83. 無駄 (Muda): Meaningless

無駄 ( muda ) is used when you feel that something is pointless, meaningless, or just a waste of your time.  

A common expression using this adjective is “時間の無駄 ( jikan no muda ).” This translates to “a waste of time” and is used when you spend your time without being productive or taking more time than you should have to do a specific task. 

84. おめでとう (Omedetō): Congratulations

This is a casual way to say congratulations to someone . If you want to be more formal/polite, you can say “おめでとうございます ( omedetō gozaimasu ) instead.  

85. よかったね。 (Yokatta ne.): I’m happy for you.

The formal form of よかったね ( yokatta ne ) is よかったですね ( yokatta desu ne ). These phrases are commonly used when someone tells you good news. 

For example, if someone looks happy and says, “I got accepted to Harvard!” you can tell them, “よかったね ( yokatta ne ).” The nuance of this phrase is like saying, “That’s great!” or “I’m happy for you!” in English.  

86. 嬉しい (Ureshii.): (I’m) happy

嬉しい ( ureshii ) usually means that you are happy/delighted that something good happened. For example, if someone brings doughnuts for everyone in your office, you can say うれしい！ to show how happy you are about it. Since you are talking about emotions, うれしい is only used to describe human feelings.  

Another word for happy in Japanese is 幸せ ( shiawase ). This word usually describes the state of being happy (happiness). For example, you finally save up enough money to take a vacation in Hawaii. When you’re on the beach sipping a Mai Tai, you can say “幸せ” to describe how the situation you are in is the definition of happiness.  

幸せ can also be used to describe inanimate things as well. For example, 幸せなライフスタイル ( shiawase na raifusutairu ): A happy lifestyle (i.e., a lifestyle that makes you happy). 

87. 楽しい (Tanoshii): Fun/enjoyable.  

When you’re having fun, you can say 楽しい ( tanoshii ) to let other people know you are enjoying yourself! It can also be used to describe fun things, like 楽しいゲーム (tanoshii gēmu): fun games.

See #39 on this list, 楽しかったです ( tanoshikatta desu ), to see how this adjective is used in the past tense.  

 88. 大好き。 (Daisuki.): I love (it).

You may have learned that 好き ( suki ) means “like” and that 大 ( dai ) means “large.” Put these two words together, and you have “a large like,” or in other words, “love.”  

You can use 大好き ( daisuki ) to talk about both things or people that you love.  

Last, but not least, here are basic Japanese grettings that you’ll use over and over in Japan.

89. おはよう。 (Ohayō): Good morning.

おはよう ( ohayō ) is the casual way to say good morning in Japanese. If you want to be more formal (like greeting people in a business environment or talking to someone with a higher social status than you), saying おはようございます ( ohayō gozaimasu ) is more appropriate.  

90. こんにちは。 (Konnichiwa.): Good afternoon.

 こんにちは ( konnichiwa ) is used to say “hello” to people from the late morning until the early evening. This word is “socially friendly,” meaning that you can use it with anyone. It doesn’t matter if someone has a lower or higher social status than you.  

91. こんばんは。 (Konbanwa.): Good evening.  

 こんばんは ( konbanwa ) is used as a greeting during the nighttime. This word can also be used with anyone in any social situation (although it is a bit formal to say it to close friends).  

If you want to say “good night,” as in, “I’m going to bed,” you use the word おやすみなさい ( oyasuminasai ) or the more casual おやすみ ( oyasumi ).  

92. 元気？ (Genki?): How are you?

This is the casual version of asking someone how they are doing. This is commonly used with people you are close to or those with an equal or lower social status than you.  

The more polite phrase, お元気ですか？ ( ogenki desu ka? ) should be used when speaking to people with a higher social status than you.  

93. お久しぶりです。 (Ohisashiburi desu.): Long time no see.

 Between close friends, you can omit お ( o ) and say, 久しぶり ( hisashiburi ).

It is a set phrase that everyone uses when they meet someone they have seen in a long time.  

94. お変わりありませんか？ ( Okaw a ri arimasen ka? ): How have you been?

 While お変わりありませんか ( okawari arimasen ka? ) translates to “Have there been any changes (with you),” the nuance when using this phrase is “How have you been. I hope you are still doing well.”

95. ご無沙汰してます。 (Gobusata shite imasu.): It’s been a long time.

This phrase is used when you haven’t been in contact with someone for a long time. It usually refers to a lack of contact by letter, email, or phone.  

96. 元気でね。 (Genki de ne.): Take care.

元気でね ( genki de ne ) is mainly used when people say goodbye to friends or family who they will not see again for a while. So the meaning of “take care” in this case means “take care until we (if) meet again.”

Another phrase, 気を付けて ( ki o tsukete ), can also be translated to “take care.” However, the nuance of this phrase means to “be careful” and take care of yourself. 気を付けて is often used when someone is going on a trip or telling kids to be careful when walking home from school. 

97. またね。 (Mata ne.): See you later.

 This is a very casual way to say goodbye to someone. A similar expression in English would be, “see ya.” Because this phrase is so casual, you would never say it to someone of higher social status (your boss, business partners, etc.)  

98. じゃあね。 (Jā ne.): See ya.

This is another very casual way to say bye to some. It shares the same nuance as またね ( mata ne ) explained above. You would not use this in formal situations or with people who have a higher social status than you.  

99. バイバイ。 (Bai bai.): Bye-bye.

 This is yet another very casual way to say bye in Japanese. Just like with またね ( mata ne ) and じゃあね ( Jā ne ) explained above, you would not use this in formal situations or with people of high social status.  

バイバイ ( bai bai ) does have a cute right to it, which makes it more popular among young people.  

100. さようなら。 (Sayōnara.): Good bye.

さようなら ( sayōnara ) is the textbook word for “goodbye” in Japanese.  Sayōnara can work in many situations, but it can be too formal or strong in casual situations .  

The nuance of saying さようなら is either formal or serious.  

It is formal because you would not use it with close friends or family. It is used at schools in Japan, where students and teachers say さようなら when they part ways.  

さようなら can also be used to say “farewell,” as in “I’m leaving and not sure if I’ll come back.” You might see characters in movies saying さようなら to each other as a final goodbye.  

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10 Easy Transition Phrases In Japanese To Sound Like A Native

• , July 21, 2023

Even though you know hundreds of Japanese vocabulary and grammar rules, you may not speak native-like. And that’s because you are missing the transition phrases in Japanese.

Transition phrases, or filler words, are the language items that make your sentences flow. So, even if you don’t speak Japanese at the N1 level, you can fake it until you make it by using filler words in your speech! Surprisingly, the Japanese language also has filler words, as we have in English. In this article, we’ll cover how to connect sentences in a natural and flowing way – like native speakers do – by using transition words.

Page Contents 📑

Why should you learn transition phrases in japanese.

Learning filler words in Japanese as a learner is essential for natural and fluent communication . It will make your speech sound more authentic, boost your confidence, and enhance your overall language skills, making conversations more enjoyable and even more effective.

In case you didn’t know, fillers are short words or phrases (like “um,” “well,” or “you know”) that native speakers use to give themselves time to think or show agreement , and they make a conversation sound natural.

In today’s lesson, we’ll focus on transition words like fillers in the Japanese language. So, if you’re looking for Japanese conjunctions rather than fillers to connect your sentences, you should read our related article.

Commonly Used Transition Words In Japanese

1. あの (ano).

Although it also means “that” as a demonstrative pronoun , あの (ano) can be used as a filler word in Japanese, similar to how you use “um” or “uh” in English. It is used when pausing to gather thoughts, express hesitation, or politely signal to others that you want to speak. It helps create a more natural flow in conversation and shows politeness or consideration while speaking.

あの、ちょっと待ってください。(Ano, chotto matte kudasai) – Um, please wait a moment.

2. えーと (Eeto)

In Japanese, えーと (eeto) is a common filler word used when pausing to gather thoughts or express hesitation, similar to the English “uh” or “um.” It helps give the speaker time to think before continuing their sentence. It’s a natural part of Japanese conversation and is used to avoid awkward silence while speaking.

えーと、それはちょっとわかりません。(Eeto, sore wa chotto wakarimasen) – Um, I don’t quite understand that.

3. それで (Sore de)

In Japanese, それで (sorede) is not typically used as a filler word like “um” or “uh.” Instead, it is a conjunctive adverb that means “so” or “therefore.” It is used to link ideas or events in a cause-and-effect manner. It indicates that the second action is a result of the first.

Aを買った。それで、Bも買った。(A o katta. Sore de, B mo katta) – I bought A. So, I also bought B.

Do you want to memorize Japanese words faster? If you’re looking for an all-in-one language-learning app, go ahead and download Ling from the App Store or Google Play now!

In Japanese, ええ (ee) is not commonly used as a filler word like “um” or “uh.” Instead, it is a casual way to say “yes.” For example, if someone asks you if you want tea, you can reply with “ええ” to mean “yes.” It’s a simple and informal affirmation.

ええ、それは本当に素晴らしい景色ですね。(Ee, sore wa hontou ni subarashii keshiki desu ne.) – Um, that’s truly a wonderful view, isn’t it?

5. そうそう (Sou sou)

In Japanese, そうそう (sou sou) is used as a filler word to express agreement or confirmation, similar to the English “yeah,” “that’s right,” or “exactly.” It is often used in casual conversations to show that you understand or relate to what the other person is saying. For example, if someone tells you about their recent trip, you can respond with “そうそう” to show that you are following their story and agree with their points.

そうそう、昨日のパーティー楽しかったね！(Sō sō, kinō no pātī tanoshikatta ne!) – Yeah, yesterday’s party was fun, right!

6. なんか (Nanka)

In Japanese, なんか (nanka) is used as a filler word to express vagueness, uncertainty, or to downplay something. It’s similar to saying “sort of” or “kind of” in English. It softens the statement and shows that you may not have a strong opinion or can’t quite explain the situation clearly.

それはなんか面白い。(Sore wa nanka omoshiroi) – That’s kind of interesting.

7. ていうか (Te iu ka)

In Japanese, ていうか (te iu ka) is a filler phrase often used to introduce a different or contrasting thought. It’s similar to saying “or rather” or “more like” in English. It allows the speaker to rephrase or clarify their previous statement. It helps add nuance to the conversation and highlight a specific aspect of the subject.

彼は先生、ていうか、研究者だ。(Kare wa sensei, te iu ka, kenkyuusha da) – He’s a teacher, or rather, a researcher.

8. そういえば (Sō ieba)

In Japanese, そういば (sou ieba) is a filler phrase used to recall or mention something that suddenly comes to mind. It’s similar to saying “by the way” in English. It helps introduce a new topic or memory into the conversation.

そういえば、彼から連絡があった。(Sou ieba, kare kara renraku ga atta) – By the way, I got a message from him.

9. あら (Ara)

In Japanese, あら (ara) is not commonly used as a filler word. Instead, it is an interjection used to express surprise, similar to the English “oh” or “wow.” It is often used in reaction to unexpected or astonishing situations. It adds an emotional tone to the conversation.

あら、すごい！(Ara, sugoi!) – Oh, that’s amazing!

10. うーん (Uun)

In Japanese, うーん (uun) is a common filler word used when pausing to think, similar to the English “hmm” or “well.” It’s used to express hesitation or uncertainty while considering what to say. It helps to show that you’re thinking about your response.

うーん、ちょっと考えてください (Uun, chotto kangaete kudasai) – Well, please give me a moment to think.

Having read this article, we hope these filler words will help you speak Japanese more fluently from now on! If you’re tired of speaking with textbook phrases, throw that book into the garbage bin and start using Ling!

Start Learning Japanese With Ling!

Ling is a language-learning app that’s been specifically designed to help you learn 60+ foreign languages in a practical and natural way.

With Ling , you can start from scratch and learn how to write Japanese (and other Asian languages) characters. Then, you can practice your speaking and listening skills thanks to Ling’s AI chatbot, which creates real-life conversations and engages with you! So that you can develop not only vocabulary but also the local writing system, Japanese prepositions , and Japanese pronunciation .

By the way, Ling has a massive Japanese language blog where you can find dozens of articles covering every aspect of the Japanese language and culture.

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Complete Japanese Conjunctions List

Conjunctions are words that connect phrases, clauses, or sentences together.

This is a complete list of Japanese conjunctions and their meanings arranged by JLPT level from beginner N5 to advanced N1.

Click on any of the lessons in the table to see more detail about that grammar point, with formation rules and example sentences.

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Japanese Conjunctions Complete Study Guide

Total japanese conjunctions lessons (113).

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*NOTE* Officially, there are no kanji, vocabulary, or grammar lists for the JLPT. As a result, it is not possible to be certain which kanji, words, or grammar will or will not appear in a given test. Our study lists are based on prior test data and comparisons with other available lists of JLPT kanji, vocabulary, grammar, etc.

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Click here to access all 48 lessons and learn the basics of Japanese conversation. Master daily greetings and travel phrases. The lessons also include sightseeing hints and cultural tips.

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Your Step-by-Step Jikoshoukai Guide Learn the basics, practice, and create an advanced Japanese self-introduction

October 11, 2016 • words written by Mami Suzuki and Michael Richey • Art by Aya Francisco

Viewing under The Tofugu JET Program Guide

When you start learning Japanese or are visiting Japan for the first time , there are few words to learn right away:

Once you've mastered those three, you need to learn your jikoshoukai.

Jikoshoukai 自己紹介 （ じこしょうかい ） is the Japanese word for "self-introduction." In theory, this is similar to how you would introduce yourself in your own culture. Say hello, say your name, tell a little about yourself. But in practice, there are cultural differences and set procedures you should stick to. You only get one first impression, so it's important to learn how to do it right.

We'll start by teaching you the basic Japanese self-introduction, then cultural subtleties, and finally a ton of extra grammar and vocabulary you can use to talk about yourself with your new Japanese friends.

Jikoshoukai Vocabulary

Writing your jikoshoukai, 1. first name and family name, 2. occupation, 3. don't talk about yourself too much, 4. bowing vs. handshake, 5. holding your hands behind your back, 6. don't bow while talking, business cards, "nice to meet you", "please be kind to me", where you are from, your school, where you live, hobbies and proficiencies, plans for the future, only the beginning, how to jikoshoukai.

Going to Japan, but don't know Japanese? Don't worry. You can jikoshoukai. The Japanese self-intro has a standard order and set phrases, so even beginners can meet and greet in Japanese.

• How do you do?

The set phrase hajimemashite 初めまして （ はじ　　　　 ） either comes from the verb hajimeru 始める （ はじ　　 ） , which means "to start," or it's a shortened form of 初めて （ はじ　　 ） お 目 （ め ） にかかりまして. Though etymologists aren't sure of the word's true origin, hajimemashite implies beginning or doing something for the first time . Most people think of it as saying "How do you do?" or "Nice to meet you."

• 私 （ わたし ） は [name] と 申します （ もう　　　 ） 。
• My name is [name].

The breakdown of this sentence is easier than it looks. It has three parts:

• 私 （ わたし ） は - The first word 私 means "I" or "me." It's followed by the particle は which indicates the topic of the sentence. In this case, 私 is the topic.
• [name] - Your name.
• と 申します （ もう　　　 ） - One meaning of the verb 申す is "to be called." It's paired with the particle と and conjugated to 申します。 This is a polite phrase, so it's safe to use in almost any situation.

When you put them all together, you get something along the lines of "I am called [name]" or "My name is [name]."

• よろしくお 願い （ ねが　 ） します。
• Please be kind to me.

The final piece of the puzzle is よろしくお 願い （ ねが　 ） します. It doesn't translate well to English, which is why we wrote a whole article about it . In a self-intro situation, it means something like "Please be kind to me." It's often translated as "Nice to meet you." This isn't technically correct, though it carries a similar feeling.

Now that you've got the basic building blocks down, it's time to put it together. At its simplest, the jikoshoukai sequence is:

• はじめまして。 私 （ わたし ） は (name) と 申 （ もう ） します。よろしくお 願 （ ねが ） いします。
• How do you do? My name is (name). Please be kind to me.

See? Not so hard. When you're getting ready to meet Japanese people for the first time, write this out and practice until it flows. If you're a beginner at Japanese , you don't need any more than this.

Jikoshoukai Etiquette

It's great to know the words to say when introducing yourself in Japanese, but how you say those words will make or break your jikoshoukai.

There are cultural differences to be aware of. They're subtle, so if you miss them it probably won't be counted against you. But paying attention to details like these can give you an extra social edge when you first meet a new Japanese friend.

In English, people usually introduce themselves by their first names or full names. When you give your full name, the first name comes first and the family name afterward.

In Japanese, people usually introduce themselves by their family names or full names. When they introduce their full name, the family name comes first and the first name comes second.

Revealing one or two of your strengths is fine, but listing all your amazing abilities will annoy others and make you seem over-confident.

In English, when you asked what you do for work, you give a brief summary of your job, or the name of your profession.

In Japan, it's common to answer only, " 会社員 （ かいしゃいん ） です。" (I'm an office worker./I work for a company./I'm a salaryman.)

However, if you introduce yourself to someone in a business setting, mention your company in your self-intro. For example:

• Tofuguのコウイチと 申します （ もう　　　 ） 。
• I'm Koichi from Tofugu.

This concept goes along with our next point…

Japanese people sometimes say lightly self-deprecating things as a form of humility, but it's usually followed by something positive (or the positivity is implied). For example:

• 至らない点が多いかもしれませんが、頑張りますので、よろしくお 願い （ ねが　 ） します
• I might have many flaws, but I'll do my best so please be kind to me.

You don't have to say anything like this (in fact, we advise you don't), but the point is this: Japanese people usually keep their strengths on the down-low.

So try not to show off too much. Revealing one or two of your strengths is fine, but listing all your amazing abilities will annoy others and make you seem over-confident.

In the West, if you're meeting someone one-on-one, you shake hands.

In Japan, don't move in for the handshake, especially if your status is the same or lower than the person you're meeting. In Japan, handshakes are for equals, so if you try to shake hands with the Emperor, it would be considered rude. Bow instead, and do so at the beginning and end of your jikoshoukai.

In Japan, holding your hands behind your back signals importance, so it may make you look full of yourself. Put your hands in front of you (the left hand on top of the right), or put your hands beside you.

This is a no-no from our Japanese bowing guide . Do your bowing after giving your self-introduction. Make sure to finish saying "yoroshiku onegaishimasu" and then bow.

Business cards in Japan are called meishi 名刺 （ めいし ） , and are an important part of Japanese culture. Even outside of the business world, Japanese people sometimes have personal meishi made (meishi means "name card" after all).

We covered meishi etiquette in our article about Japanese work customs , but here are the rules again in a jikoshoukai context.

Orient your card toward the recipient. Give and receive meishi with two hands.

Put meishi in a carrying case: You can buy business card carrying cases online or at any department store in Japan. If you don't have a case, you can carefully put the meishi in your purse or wallet after you've received it. Just don't put it in your pocket.

Use two hands: Orient your card toward the recipient when presenting. Hold the top edge with both hands. When they offer their card, accept it with two hands. Try not to cover any words with your fingers either. Some Japanese people are taught that a meishi is the "face" of the person giving it, so you don't want to cover theirs or your own.

When you and your new friend offer each other meishi at the same time: Present your card with your right hand, while simultaneously receiving theirs with your left.

Read meishi you receive: Read the person's name and title on the card before you put it away. Make sure to show interest in what they do. Act at least a little bit impressed with their job title.

When exchanging meishi in a group, give to the most senior person first: Start by giving your business card to the shachou, then fukushachou, and so on down the chain of command .

Treat meishi with respect: Use common sense and treat meishi like you would a gift. Don't toss or write on them.

Expanding the Basic Jikoshoukai

Maybe you've been doing your Japanese self-intro for years, repeating the same three set phrases over and over. Maybe you've read this guide before and have the basics down pat. You're ready to level up!

Below are example sentences you can mix into your standard jikoshoukai to give it more flavor, and make your self-intro a memorable one.

Earlier we learned how to use はじめまして (nice to meet you, how do you do). Here's a few ways to add to this set phrase.

• こんにちは。はじめまして。
• Hello. Nice to meet you.
• みなさん、はじめまして。
• Nice to meet you, everyone.
• みなさん、こんにちは。はじめまして。
• Hello everyone. Nice to meet you.

For a formal situation, you should say both your first and last names. In a casual situation, it's common to say only your family name for Japanese people.

If you're an English teacher on something like the JET Program , your school might want you to give your first name when you introduce yourself to the students. Ask your supervisor what's appropriate for the situation.

Below are several ways to introduce your name, organized by politeness in ascending order.

• 私 （ わたし ） の 名前 （ なまえ ） はマイケルですが、みんなにはマイクって 呼ばれて （ よ　　　 ） います。
• My name is Michael, but most people call me Mike.
• I'm Michael.

Very Formal:

• マイケルと 申します （ もう　　　 ） 。

Very Formal/Business:

• Tofuguのマイケルと 申します （ もう　　　 ） 。
• I'm Michael from Tofugu.

When you end your jikoshoukai, you'll use a phrase that means "Please be kind to me" or "Remember me favorably." But once you've got a handle on the standard " yoroshiku onegaishimasu ," you can move on to more casual or more formal variations. Below we've organized them by politeness level in ascending order.

Polite/Business:

• どうぞ、よろしくお 願い （ ねが　 ） します。
• よろしくお 願い （ ねが　 ） 致します （ いた　　　 ） 。

Very Polite/Business:

• どうぞ、よろしくお 願い （ ねが　 ） 致します （ いた　　　 ） 。

Formal/Business:

• よろしくお 願い （ ねが　 ） 申し上げます （ もう　あ　　　 ） 。
• どうぞ、よろしくお 願い （ ねが　 ） 申し上げます （ もう　あ　　　 ） 。

Custom Jikoshoukai Modification

From here we get into the fun stuff. After expanding on the initial three pieces of the Japanese self-introduction, you can start adding information about yourself, short sentences that explain where you're from, what you like to do, and so on.

These jikoshoukai modifications will help people get to know you faster when you first introduce yourself. This is especially important as you start to make more Japanese friends, go on dates, or have job interviews.

Telling where you're from is always a good addition to a self-intro. Even if you don't use it during the initial jikoshoukai, your new Japanese friend will probably ask you anyway, so memorizing a few of these phrases is extra useful.

Two quick vocabulary usage notes: First, the word shusshin 出身 （ しゅっしん ） mean's "person's origin," and refers more to the place you were born or grew up than where you currently live. It's often used for specific places like a city, state, or prefecture, rather than a country. For example, Mami was born in Osaka, and now lives in Canada. But she spent most of her life in Nara, so she says " 奈良県 （ ならけん ） の 出身 （ しゅっしん ） です。" or " 出身 （ しゅっしん ） は 奈良県 （ ならけん ） です。"

Second, the verb mairu 参る （ まいる ） is a more humble form of kuru 来る （ く　 ） or iku 行く （ い　 ） . So when 参る （ まい　 ） is used to talk about where you came from in "アメリカから 参りました （ まい　　　 ） ," it's much more humble, so use it in appropriate situations.

• アメリカの 出身 （ しゅっしん ） です。
• I'm from America.
• アメリカから 来ました （ き　　　 ） 。
• アメリカから 参りました （ まい　　　　 ） 。
• オレゴン 州 （ しゅう ） のポートランドから 来ました （ き　　　 ） 。 生まれ （ う　　 ） も 育ち （ そだ　 ） もポートランドです。
• I'm from Portland, Oregon. Born and raised.
• 生まれ （ う　　 ） は 大阪 （ おおさか ） ですが、 育ち （ そだ　 ） は 東京 （ とうきょう ） です。
• I was born in Osaka, but grew up in Tokyo.
• 育ち （ そだ　 ） はニューヨークです。
• I grew up in New York.
• 田舎 （ いなか ） で 育ちました （ そだ　　　　 ） 。
• I grew up in the countryside.
• 生まれ （ う　　 ） は 東京 （ とうきょう ） ですが、 十歳 （ じゅうさい ） の 時 （ とき ） に 大阪 （ おおさか ） に 引っ越しました （ ひ　こ　　　　 ） 。そして、 大学 （ だいがく ） に 入る （ はい　 ） 時 （ とき ） に、 名古屋 （ なごや ） に 引っ越して （ ひ　こ　　 ） 来ました （ き　　　 ） 。
• I was born in Tokyo, but moved to Osaka when I was ten, and lived there until I entered university, which is when I came to Nagoya.
• 小さい （ ちい　　 ） 時 （ とき ） 、 家族 （ かぞく ） が 何度も （ なんど　 ） 引っ越した （ ひ　こ　　 ） ので、 私 （ わたし ） には 育った （ そだ　　 ） 場所 （ ばしょ ） というのはないんです。
• My family moved a lot when I was little, so I'm not really from anywhere.

School, from elementary up through university , is a big part of Japanese life. Be prepared to have people ask alma mater and what you studied. Or cut them off at the pass by including the information in your jikoshoukai.

• Ⓐ 大学 （ だいがく ） Ⓑ 学部 （ がくぶ ） Ⓒ 科 （ か ） の 出身 （ しゅっしん ） です。
• I graduated from the Ⓒ department of the faculty of Ⓑ of Ⓐ University.
• Ⓐ 大学 （ だいがく ） Ⓑ 学部 （ がくぶ ） Ⓒ 科 （ か ） の 学生 （ がくせい ） です。
• I'm a student of the Ⓒ department of the faculty of Ⓑ of Ⓐ University.
• Ⓐ 大学 （ だいがく ） Ⓑ 学部 （ がくぶ ） Ⓒ 科 （ か ） の 二年生 （ にねんせい ） です。
• I'm a second year student of the Ⓒ department of the faculty of Ⓑ of Ⓐ University.
• オレゴン 大学 （ だいがく ） で、 二年間 （ にねんかん ） 東 （ ひがし ） アジアの 歴史 （ れきし ） を 専攻 （ せんこう ） していました。
• I studied East Asian history at Oregon university for two years.

Occupation is a common conversation topic when meeting someone new. If you're doing business in Japan (or want to), you'd better learn at least one of these phrases.

A quick grammar usage note: some of these jikoshoukai example sentences use the continuous state conjugation of suru する （ ） which is shiteimasu しています （ ） . If you want to get extra polite with any of these sentences, swap out しています with shiteorimasu しております （ ） . One easy switch and you're ready to tell CEOs and presidents about your work situation.

• Tofuguで 編集長 （ へんしゅうちょう ） を しています 。
• I'm the chief editor of Tofugu.
• トヨタで 営業 （ えいぎょう ） を 担当 （ たんとう ） しています 。
• I'm working in sales at Toyota.
• 会計課 （ かいけいか ） に 配属 （ はいぞく ） になりました、 佐藤 （ さとう ） です。
• I'm Satou , assigned to the accounts department.
• 私 （ わたし ） は 会社員 （ かいしゃいん ） です。
• I'm an office worker.
• 私 （ わたし ） は 英語 （ えいご ） の 教師 （ きょうし ） です。
• I'm an English teacher.
• 私 （ わたし ） は 英語 （ えいご ） を 教えています （ おし　　　　　 ） 。
• I teach English.
• 私 （ わたし ） はこの 学校 （ がっこう ） で 英語 （ えいご ） を 教えます （ おし　　　 ） 。
• I'm going to teach English at this school.
• 私 （ わたし ） は 東 （ ひがし ） フグ 小学校 （ しょうがっこう ） で 働いて （ はたら　　 ） います。
• I'm working at East Fugu Elementary School.
• 私 （ わたし ） は 東 （ ひがし ） フグ 小学校 （ しょうがっこう ） に 勤めて （ つと　　 ） います。
• I'm working for East Fugu Elementary School.

"You live around here?" is a common question no matter the culture. Be ready to answer questions about your living situation with these sentences.

• 東京 （ とうきょう ） に 住んで （ す　　 ） います。
• I live in Tokyo.
• 東京 （ とうきょう ） 駅 （ えき ） の 近く （ ちか　 ） に 住んで （ す　　 ） います。
• I live near Tokyo station.
• 東京 （ とうきょう ） 駅 （ えき ） の 近く （ ちか　 ） のマンションに 住んで （ す　　 ） います。
• I live in an apartment near Tokyo station.

Hobbies are super important part of life in Japan. Japanese junior high and high school students take school club activities seriously ( sometimes more than academics ) and this passion often continues into adult life. If you have a hobby, that is your "thing." Even if you don't think of your interests as "hobbies," describe them as such anyway. It will help people understand you better . Alternatively, you can say what you like and don't like.

• 趣味 （ しゅみ ） は[____]です。
• My hobby is [____].
• 趣味 （ しゅみ ） は[____]することです。
• My hobby is to do [____]
• [____]が 趣味 （ しゅみ ） です。
• [____]することが 趣味 （ しゅみ ） です。
• 私 （ わたし ） は[____]が 好き （ す　 ） です。
• I like [____]
• [____]も 好き （ す　 ） です。
• I also like [____]
• [____]は 好き （ す　 ） ではありません。
• I don't like [____]
• 私 （ わたし ） は[____]することが 好き （ す　 ） です。
• I like to do [____]
• 私 （ わたし ） は[____]が 得意 （ とくい ） です。
• I'm good at [____].
• 私 （ わたし ） は[____]することが 得意 （ とくい ） です。
• I'm good at doing [____].
• 私 （ わたし ） は[____]が 苦手 （ にがて ） です。
• I'm not good at/I don't like [____](noun)
• 私 （ わたし ） は[____]することが 苦手 （ にがて ） です。
• I'm not good at doing [____].

What do you want to be when you grow up? What new skills are you trying to develop? What are you going to eat for lunch tomorrow? Answer these questions and more with the example sentences below.

Grammar usage note: the noun tsumori つもり （ ） is used to tell what you plan to do. It's most commonly used in situations where you've already made up your mind. It's definite. Don't use it for instances where you're kind of maybe thinking about something, but you're not sure yet.

• [____]ようと 考えて （ かんが　　 ） います。
• I'm thinking about doing [____].
• [____]したいと 思って （ おも　　 ） います。
• I'd like to do [____].
• [____]つもりです。
• 私 （ わたし ） の 目標 （ もくひょう ） は[____]です。
• My object is [____].
• [____]に 挑戦 （ ちょうせん ） したいと 思って （ おも　　 ） います。
• I'd like to challenge [____].

Now you know what it takes to put together a stellar jikoshoukai in Japanese. Put the pieces together, mind the cultural differences, and practice till its second nature.

With a solid self-intro on your side, you're poised to start your relationships right. Just don't forget your business cards.

CONJUNCTIVE WORDS & EXPRESSIONS

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��note 1: A conjunction in Japanese language is a word (=conjunction) or a relational expression to connect two sentences, phrases, or words.

��note 2: When you are not able to read a Kanji, please use the dictionaries on the internet. �d�q�����i��������������j �^ ���t�[�����i���t�j �^ �y�V�}���`�����i���������� �^ �p�a�E�a�p���T

��note 3�F A particle (or particles) might be used after an adverb or a conjunction.

��note 4: The usage is not necessarily same in English and in Japanese sentences. PLEASE LOOK at conjunctions based on JPN which has a different categorization and more explanation for their usage.

��note 5: Please let me ( Ofuji ) know a correct expression and its usage in English.

�� There are some "chips" for the commonly used conjunctions at the end of this page.

1. SERIES�@ �@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@

• at first�@�܂��^��΂�{��������A�͂���
• first�@�i�܂��^��΂�{�j��������A�͂��߁A��΂�ځA���
• second; then ��΂�ځA���A���ꂩ��
• third�@�O�΂�ځA��O�A
• after that�@���̌�
• last �������A�����ɁA�‚��� �A�����
• primarily �����A���
• secondarily ��`�I��
• in the first place �͂��߁A��������
• in the second place �‚��A�‚���
• finally �������ɁA�������傭
• at last, after all ����ƁA�悤�₭�A�Ƃ��Ƃ��A�‚���
• additionally �‚����킦��ƁA
• first and foremost �^����A���A
• the former �O��
• the latter�@���
• before ~�@�`�̑O
• after ~�@�`�̌�

2. CHRONOLOGICAL transitions to signal relationship IN TIME

• presently�@����
• nowadays; today�@����ɂ��i�����j�A���܂ł́A
• long time ago�@�����ƑO�A�ނ����A�`�̂���A
• immediately�@�i���j�����A�������܁A�������ɁA�����ɁA�����ɁA
• soon�@�₪�āA�قǂȂ��A�Ԃ��Ȃ��A��������
• shortly�@�قǂȂ��A�Ԃ��Ȃ�
• following this/that�@���́^���̌�
• there upon�@���ꂩ��シ��
• thereafter�@�̂��i��j�A���ꂩ���
• soon afterward�@������
• afterward; later�@��
• from then on�@���ꂩ���A
• since then; from that time; ever since�@����ȗ�
• the next day; following day�@�‚��̓�
• meanwhile�@���΂炭�����
• at length�@�₪�āA�����
• beforehand�@���̑O��
• at that moment�@���̎�
• before; earlier than; ahead; beyond; away; previously; recently�@���
• at this time�@���̂قǁA����A���x
• till/ until (clause) ; as far as "a plac"�@�`�܂�
• by that time�@�`�܂ł�

3. SPECIAL transitions to signal relationship IN SPACE

• between those ~�@�`�̂�����
• among these ~�@�`�̂Ȃ��A�`�̂���
• beyond this point�@����^����ȏ�
• within ~�@ �`�ȓ�
• from one place to another�@�`����E�E�E�܂�
• about a foot to the left�@�����Ђ��肪��
• just to the right�@���傤�ǂ݂�����
• step by step�@������
• through ~�@�`���Ƃ��i�ʁj���āA�`���Ƃ��i�� �j���āA�`���‚��i�ʁj����
• via ~�@�`���Ƃ��i�ʁj����
• this side + the other side �����炪��{�����炪��^�ނ�������

4. 1) ADDITION / SUPPLEMENTARY

• and�@�����āA�������āA�܂��A��������� [vs. �������Ȃ���� as "or"]
• and yet�@������
• also�@�`���܂�
• and then�@���ꂩ��A�����
• moreover�@����ɁA����ɁA���̏�A������
• further�@����ɁA���̏�A
• furthermore�@����ɁA���̏�A�Ȃ��A������
• besides�@�@����ɁA���̏�A�Ȃ�
• in addition (to)�@�i����Ɂ^������{�j�‚����킦���
• plus�@�E�E�E�‚����킦���
• nevertheless�@����ɂ�������炸�A����ł���͂�A������
• not only X but also Y�@�w�����łȂ��i�{�āj�x���i�{�܂��j�E�E�E���@�ior�E�E�E�ł͂Ȃ��j
• together�@��������ɁA�������āA�Ƃ��ɁA���X
• jointly�@�������āA�������

2) an EXPANSION to what precedes

• and then/ immediately after�@�����
• and then�@������
• and then�@�����
• and then�@����ł�
• then/ and so�@����Ȃ�

�T. COMPARISON transitions to signal what follows is SIMILAR TO what precedes

• also ...�@�܂��G�`���܂�
• like...; likewise�@�`�Ɠ��i���ȁj���悤�ɁA�`�Ɠ��l�ɁA�`�̂悤��
• similar to ...�@�`�ƂɂĂ���A�@�`�Ɠ��i���ȁj���悤��
• in the same way; at the same time�@�`�Ɠ����ɁG�`�Ɠ�����:�@
• same�@�����G�����Ȃ�
• both and�@��傤�ق��Ƃ��E�E�E���ior�E�E�E�ł͂Ȃ��j
• either X or Y�@�w���x���E�E�E�@�ior�E�E�E�Ȃ��j
• neither X nor Y��@�w���x���E�E�E�@�ior�E�E�E�Ȃ��j

�U. CONTRAST transitions to signal A CONTRADICTION OR CONTRAST

1) S1 and S2 are opposite.

• but; yet; however�@������
• although; though; but; however�@����ǂ�
• but; however�@���� ( used in a written form)�@
• but; however�@�Ƃ��낪 ( "intention" never be used in the Clause after this word.)�@
• unlike ...�@�`�Ƃ�������
• different / another�@�ق��A�ׂA���������^�������A���ƂȂ����^���ƂȂ�

2) S2 is NOT an expected or predicted result of S1.

• however; unlike my expectation�@����Ȃ̂Ɂ@
• to the contrary; by contraries�@����ɂ��Ắ@
• but; however�@���ꂪ�@
• in spite of the fact that�@����ɂ��������Ȃ��ŁA����ɂ�������炸�@

3) S2 is an opinion or judgment against S1. �@

• but; however, hence�@�ł��A
• but and yet; still; nevertheless�@����ł��A�������Ȃ���
• but then but still; though�@����ɂ��Ă��@ or�@���邢�́A�܂���

1) CAUSE-EFFECT transitions to signal what follows is A RESULT of what precedes

��note: Emotive expressions --desire (�`����), will (�`�܂��Avolutional forms), request / command (�`�ĉ������^�`�Ȃ���), suggestion / advice (�` ����ǂ��ł����^�`�����������^�`�ׂ���), intention �i�`�‚��肾�j, supposition�i�`��������Ȃ��^�`���낤), invitation (�`�܂���), etc.

• so�@������A����� (�Ł��b���t,Not used with the emotive expressions)
• therefore�@������A����ŁA����������(written form; stress on the effect)�A����䂦�� (written form)�A���̌��ʁA�K�R�I�ɁA
• consequently�@���������āA���̌��ʁA����䂦�ɁA�K�R�I�ɁA
• as a result; as a consequence; consequently�@�i���́{�j���� �i�������j
• for this / that reason�@�i���́^���́{�j���߂� (stress on the reason) hence�@�i���́{�j���߂� (stress on the reason) wherefore�@�i����{�j�䂦�� because of ~�@�`�̂��߁A�`�Ƃ����킯��
• due to ~�@�@�`�̂��߁A�`�Ƃ����킯�� �@

2) To signal that what follows is a REASON of what precedes, use EFFECT�[ CAUSE transition �@�@

• for�@�@�`�Ƃ����̂́E�E�E���炾�A�@�Ȃ��Ȃ�E�E�E���炾
• the reason why ~ is that ��� �`�킯�́E�E�E�E���A�`���R�́E�E�E��

8. EMPHASIS

• obviously�@���炩��
• certainly�@��������
• perhaps�@����
• surely�@��������
• naturally�@�Ƃ�����A������܂��̂��Ƃ����E�E�E
• very likely�@�Ƃ�����
• really�@�ق�Ƃ���
• to be sure�@��������
• in truth; in fact�@���� �A���́A����
• indeed�@�{���ɁA���́A���� �A����
• undoubtedly�@���������Ȃ�
• assuredly�@�������Ȃ��Ƃ�
• without fail�@���Ȃ炸
• surprisingly�@���ǂ낢�����Ƃ�

9. AN EXAMPLE, AN ILLUSTRATION, A QUALIFICATION

• "a general name / category" called "a specific name" �@�h�r�h�Ƃ����h�f�^�b�h such as X, Y, Z�@�@�w�A�x�A�y�ȂǁA�w�Ƃ��x�Ƃ��y�ȂǁA
• for example / for instance�@���Ƃ��΁A�ꂢ��������ƁA
• to illustrate�@���Ƃ��΁A���Ƃ���΁A���Ƃ����
• generally / in general�@�����ς�Ă���
• usually�@�ӂ‚�
• especially�@�Ƃ��ɁA�Ƃ�킯
• specifically�@�Ƃ��ɁA�Ƃ�킯
• particularly/ in particular�@�Ƃ��ɁA�Ƃ�킯
• occasionally�@�΂����ɂ���Ă�
• ; that is,�@�‚܂�A�E�E�E�Ƃ����̂�

10. EXPECTED, NATURAL, OR OBVIOUSLY TRUE �@�@�@

• of course�@�������
• naturally�@�Ƃ�����
• for that matter�@���́i���Ƃ́j���߂�
• as a matter of fact�@�����A�܂����������āA���‚̂Ƃ���A������A���‚�

11. COUNTER ARGUMENT transitions for CONCESSION

• doubtless�@�����ƁA�����A�����炭�A
• to doubt that�c�@�c�́@�������킵��
• to be sure�@�������߂��
• granted that�c�@����Ɂc���Ƃ��Ă�

12. SUMMARY OR CONCLUSION transitions to illustrate that what follows is a REPETITION OR INTENSIFICATION of that which precedes �@ *note: Read the section, "cause-effect" also.

• in other words; in short ; in brief�@���Ȃ킿�A�v����ɁA���񂶂‚߂��
• to repeat�@���肩������
• as we have seen�@�O�Ɍ��Ă����悤��
• as noted earlier�@��ɏ������悤��
• to put it another way�@�ق��̌�����������΁A�ق��̌������������
• indeed�@������
• in any case�@�ǂ�ȏꍇ�ł�
• in fact�@������
• besides�@���̂����ɁA����ɁA�Ȃ�
• thus�@���̂悤�ɁA����䂦�ɁA
• for this reason�@���������킯��
• on the whole�@�S�̓I��
• in a word�@�v�����
• to summarize�@�v�񂷂��
• in summary�@�v�񂷂��
• in sum�@�v�|��
• in conclusion�@���_�́A���т�
• to conclude�@���_��������
• finally�@��������
• all in all�@�S���A���ׂ� �@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@

��"chips" to avoid confusion "The main sentence" means the sentence after the conjunction. "Emotive expressions" means "will" "desire" "command" and so on.

• ������ �F(1) connect a word, phrase, sentence and another word, phrase, sentence. (2) The main sentence should be a consequential matter. (3) used for "one topic" (person, place, matter) (4) can be used for the relation to express a reason or a result.
• ���ꂩ�� �F(1) connect a word, phrase, sentence and another word, phrase, sentence. (2) chronological matter (3) means "other than that, the next ....." (4) used to change a topic (5) can NOT use for a reason or a result�@�@
• ����� �F (1) connect a word, phrase, sentence and another word, phrase, sentence. (2) addition (3) objective opinions (4) can NOT use for subjective opinions and commands���������A���̏い
• ������ �F (1) connect a sentence and another sentence. (2) the main sentence is a reasonable effect or a strong reason of the previous sentence--a cause. (3) The main sentence can be "emotive expressions."
• ����� �F (1) connect a sentence and another sentence. (2) the main sentence is an effect, result (3) the previous sentence should be a cause or reason. (4)The main sentence can NOT be "emotive expressions." (5) in a dialog, it is used to urge, facilitate the speaker
• ���̌��� �F (1) connect a sentence and another sentence. (2) as a result
• ���̂��߁i�Ɂj �F (1) connect a sentence and another sentence. (2) for extraordinary goal with often the present tense (3) reason ~ with often the "past sense"
• ������ �F (1) connect a phrase or sentence and another phrase or sentence. (2) the previous sentence is (often unexpected) situational �� next action or natural result occurs.(3) The main sentence should be a verbal sentence, but not an adjectival sentence.
• ����� �^��������ƁF (1) connect a sentence and another sentence. (2) the 2nd incident/matter [main sentence] follows to the 1st one. (3) often both sentences are "past tense." (4) The main sentence is a natural consequence of the previous sentence.
• ����ł� �^ �ł� �^���Ⴀ�i���������������j�F (1) connect a sentence and another sentence. (2) The main sentence is the speaker's/writer's suggestion, intention, judgement.
• �Ƃ��낪 �F (1) connect a sentence and another sentence; used when the subbodinate clause is a verbal sentence. (2) unexpected situation (3) The main sentence should be a fact, but not an "emotive" expression.
• �������^�ł� �F (1) connect a phrase or sentence and another phrase or sentence. (2) The content of the main sentence is diffrent from the previous sentence. (3) contrast two opposite things. (4) The main sentence is the speaker's opinion and reaction to the previous sentence. (5) in dialog, to suggest a topic used by men (�ł� by women)
• ����ǂ�/����/���ǂ� �F (1) connect a phrase or sentence and another phrase or sentence. (2) The content of the main sentence is diffrent from the previous sentence. (3) support the previous sentence more than ������ (4) The main sentence can be the speker's opinion, question, emotion, unexpected thought, doubt, suspition, etc. (5) used just to connect two senences to get attention or soften the speaker's talk.
• �����^�ł��� �F (1) connect a sentence and another sentence. (2) The main sentence is diffrent from the previous sentence. (3) contrast two opposite things. (4) �������t�^���J�Ȍ�����
• �� �F (1) connect a phrase or sentence and another phrase or sentence. (2) The main sentence can be the speaker's surprise, unexpected matter OR the speaker's judgement, opinion, reaction. (3) used just to connect two senences to get attention or soften the speaker's talk.
• �Ƃ���� �F (1) connect a sentence and another sentence. (2) to change a topic
• �܂� �F (1) connect a phrase or sentence and another phrase or sentence. (2) also/besides
• �Ⴆ�� �F (1) connect a phrase or sentence and another phrase or sentence. (2) to bring up an example
• ����Ȃ̂� �F (1) connect a sentence and another sentence. (2) The content of the main sentence is unexpectedly opposite of the expected result of the previous sentence. (3) The main sentence shows blaming, suprise, unsatisfaction -- negative connotation.

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StoryLearning

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73 Basic Japanese Phrases to Survive Your First Conversation With a Native

Whether you’re in the early stages of learning Japanese or you’ve been practicing for a while, the thought of having a conversation with a native speaker can be nerve-wracking. 

I've been there plenty of times too. So I bet your inner monologue is along these lines:

• Will they understand? What if I say something wrong by accident?
• What do I do if I don’t have the vocab to say what I’m thinking?

These thoughts are perfectly normal reactions to doing something scary in Japanese, like chatting to a native speaker.

Thankfully, you can go into your first conversation armed with a ton of useful basic Japanese phrases .

Check out the rest of this article to learn 73 handy turns of phrase that will serve you well in any Japanese conversation or when travelling in Japan. 

These are also great starting points if you’re just jumping into Japanese for the first time. These basic Japanese phrases will be the backbone on which you can build your Japanese knowledge. 

And for a little extra boost to your confidence before you head into a conversation with a native speaker, take a look at this detailed guide to Japanese pronunciation.

By the way, if you want to learn Japanese fast and have fun while doing it, my top recommendation is  Japanese Uncovered  which teaches you through StoryLearning®. 

With  Japanese Uncovered  you’ll use my unique StoryLearning® method to learn Japanese naturally through story… not rules. It’s as fun as it is effective.

If you’re ready to get started,  click here for a 7-day FREE trial.

Anyway, back to our basic Japanese phrases…. let's discover what they are!

8 Must-Know Japanese Greetings

When you meet someone for the first time, you tend to start out with a greeting like “Hello” or pleasantries like “It’s nice to meet you,” right? Japanese is full of simple phrases to start out a conversation.

If you're planning a trip to Japan, then the people you meet at your destination will be thrilled to hear you use these expressions, even if they're the only ones you know:

• #1 Konnichiwa (こんにちは) – Hello
• #2 Ohayou gozaimasu (おはようございます) – Good morning
• #3 Konbanwa (こんばんは) – Good evening
• #4 Moshi moshi (もしもし) – Hello (but only if you’re on the phone or something like Skype)
• #5 Ogenki desu ka? (お元気ですか) – How are you?
• #6 Genki desu (元気です) – I’m good/I’ve been doing well, thanks
• #7 Ohisashiburi desu ne (お久しぶりですね) – Long time no see
• #8 _______ – san mo? (______-さんも？) – And you? (Hint: fill in the blank with your friend’s name. This is a great response to things like “How are you?” because you can say, “I’m good! And you?”)

5 Ways To Learn More About Your Conversation Partner 

After you’ve greeted your new conversation partner, it’s likely that you’ll need to know more about them. Keep it rolling—you’ve got this.

• #9  Namae wa nan desu ka? (名前は何ですか) – What’s your name?
• #10 Watashi no namae wa _____ desu (私の名前は＿＿です) – My name is ______
• #11 Doko kara kimashita ka? (どこから来ましたか) – Where are you from?
• #12 Watashi wa ______ kara kimashita (私は＿＿から来ました) – I’m from __________.
• #13 Sou desu ka ? (そうですか) – Is that so?/Really?/I see (Hint: this is a great thing to say after learning where someone is from, what they do, or other facts about their life.)

If you want to keep the conversation going and need some more expressions to help you out, check out these 28 Japanese conversation starters .

7 Essential Japanese Politeness Expressions 

You’ve done great so far. You’ve introduced yourself, learned your friend’s name and maybe where they’re from. And now you’re ready to move on to other topics.

But first, try out some of these traditional Japanese politeness phrases so you can apologise, show off your good manners, and be polite at a restaurant before you tuck into a meal.

• #14 Arigatou gozaimasu (ありがとうございます) – Thank you
• #15 Douitashimashite (どういたしまして) – You’re welcome
• #16 Sumimasen (すみません) – I’m sorry/excuse me (Hint: you can use this for anything from apologising for stumbling into someone on the train to asking for help or asking for people to move out of your way.)
• #17 Gomen nasai (ごめんなさい) – I’m sorry (Hint: didn’t we already cover “I’m sorry”? Gomen nasai is less “excuse me” and more “I’m truly sorry from the bottom of my heart.” Use it if you knocked something over and broke it, not if you interrupted someone’s stroll to ask for directions.)
• #18 Yoroshiku onegaishimasu (よろしくおねがいします) – I’m in your debt! (Hint: this one isn’t used in its literal sense most of the time; it’s a way to say “thank you” to someone you are counting on or indebted to. For example, if you're starting out at a new job in Japan, you might introduce yourself and then add this at the end. You might also use it if you’ve asked someone a favour, such as to show you around or give you directions.)
• #19 Itadakimasu (いただきます) – Let’s dig in (Hint: say this before meals as a way to politely say you’re going to begin enjoying your food.)
• #20 Gochisousama deshita (ごちそうさまでした) – That was delicious (Hint: say this after meals as a way to say thank you.)

For more on Japanese culture, customs and politeness check out this post.

9 Ways To Get Clarification In A Japanese Conversation

You’ve been puttering along in a conversation for a while now! But what happens if everything you feared takes place and you get confused? First, remember not to panic. 

Even in your native language, you probably have to ask people for clarification or to repeat themselves. You won’t offend anyone if you do the same in a foreign language. Memorise these expressions and just take it slow, one sentence at a time.

• #21 Eigo te iu no wa… (英語ていうのは) – And in English, that’s…?
• #22 Wakarimasen (わかりません) – I don’t understand
• #23 Shirimasen (知りません) – I don’t know
• #24 Wasuremashita (忘れました) – I forgot
• #25 Motto yukkuri kudasai (もっとゆっくり下さい) – Please go a little slower
• #26 Mou ichido kudasai (もう一度下さい) – Could you say that one more time?
• #27 Nihongo de perapera de wa nai desu (日本語でペラペラではないです) – I’m not very fluent in Japanese (Hint: you’re speaking Japanese already! So you can’t say “I don’t know Japanese at all,” right?)
• #28 ___ te iu no imi wa nan desu ka ? (＿＿ていうの意味は何ですか) – What does _____ mean?
• #29 Tetsudatte kuremasen ka ? (手伝ってくれませんか) – Can you help me?

6 Can't-Live-Without Japanese Questions

Japanese is one of the easiest languages to ask questions in—so ask away! In order to make a question in Japanese, just add ka to the end of any sentence.

On top of that, though, there are a few question words that will make your conversations go a lot smoother. Plus knowing how to ask questions is essential for travellers in Japan if you need to find your way or get help.  

• #30 Doko desu ka? (どこですか) – Where is it?
• #31 Itsu desu ka? (いつですか) – When is it?
• #32 Doushite? (どうして) – Why?
• #33 Dochira desu ka? (どちらですか) – Which one is it?
• #34 Nan desu ka? (何ですか) – What is it?
• #35 Dare desu ka? (だれですか) – Who is it?

Getting To Know Each Other In Japanese 

Perfect! You’ve been talking with someone for a few minutes now, introducing yourself and asking any questions you need to know. Maybe you’ve found out your speaking partner’s name and you’re walking to a coffee shop together.

Now’s the perfect time to find out more about each other and maybe become friends. Try out some of these phrases to open up a whole new avenue of conversation!

• #36 Ima nanji desu ka? (今何時ですか) – What time is it right now?
• #37 Ima (今) – Now
• #38 Ato de (後で) – Later
• #39 Kyou (今日) – Today
• #40 Kinou (昨日) – Yesterday
• #41 Ashita (明日) – Tomorrow
• #42 Mainichi (毎日) – Everyday
• #43 Nansai desu ka? (何歳ですか) – How old are you?
• #44 Doko ni sundeimasu ka? (どこに住んでいますか) – Where do you live?
• #45 Kyoudai ga imasu ka? (兄弟がいますか) – Do you have siblings?
• #46 Ikura desu ka? (いくらですか) – How much does that cost?
• #47 Kore wa nan desu ka? (これはなんですか) – What is this?
• #48 Sore wa nan desu ka? (それはなんですか) – What is that?
• #49 Are we nan desu ka? (あれはなんですか) – What is that? (Hint: Use “ kore ” when something is close to you, “ sore ” when something is away from you but close to the person you’re speaking to, and “ are ” when something is far away from both of you.)
• #50 Toire wa doko desu ka? (トイレはどこですか) – Where’s the toilet?

11 Answers To Common Japanese Questions

You’ve been learning a lot about your new friend, but now the tables have turned—they’re the one asking you questions! How should you respond to many of the most common questions Japanese native speakers might ask you? Try these answers out.

• #51 Hai (はい) – Yes
• #52 Iie (いいえ) – No
• #53 Mada mada (まだまだ) – Not yet
• #54 Kamoshiremasen (かもしれません) – Maybe/I’m not sure
• #55 Tokidoki (時々) – Sometimes
• #56 Zenzen (全然) – Never
• #57 Itsumo (いつも) – Always
• #58 Taitei (たいてい) – Usually
• #59 Watashi wa _____ desu (私は＿＿です) – I’m a _______ (Hint: you can fill this blank with anything you feel describes you. That might be a “student” ( gakusei ), “tourist” ( kankoukyaku ), or even “doctor” ( isha )!
• #60 Daijoubu desu (大丈夫です) – That’s okay
• #61 Ii desu (いいです) – That’s good

A special note on the difference between daijoubu and ii . If someone is asking you if something is “all right,” daijobu is what fits there (think “We don’t sell that here; can I get you X instead?” to which you’d respond with “yes, that’s all right, I suppose”).

If you approve of something or find it nice, that’s the time for ii (think of your friend saying “Hey, we should go to that sushi place!” and you’re really excited to go there. If your friend suggested sushi but you really wanted ramen instead, that would be a case for just using daijoubu .)

5 Japanese Phrases For Special Occasions

What if you’ve found yourself speaking to a native Japanese person for the first time because you decided to go to a celebration or special event, like a birthday or festival? Here are a few useful phrases for almost any situation you might find yourself in.

• #62 Ki o tsukete (気を付けて) – Be careful (Hint: you might say this to someone going on a trip.)
• #63 Yoku dekimashita (よくできました) – Great job
• #64 Omedetou gozaimasu (おめでとうございます) – Congratulations
• #65 Tanjoubi omedetou (誕生日おめでとう) – Happy birthday
• #66 Kanpai (乾杯) – Cheers (Hint: you should really only go for this one if you actually have a drink of some sort in your hand.)

4 Types Of Japanese Goodbye

You’ve had a lot to talk about, but now the time has come to finish your Japanese conversation. How do you wrap things up?

• #67 Ja (じゃ) – Well (Hint: used in the sense of “well, I guess I’d better get going.”)
• #68 Sayounara (さようなら) – Goodbye (Hint: use only if you don’t plan on seeing them again. This is a more final “goodbye.”)
• #69 Ja, mata (じゃまた) – Well, see you (Hint: this is the much more common “goodbye.”)
• #70 Oyasumi nasai (おやすみなさい) – Good night

By the way, if you're based in Tokyo or elsewhere in Japan, but you're still looking for someone to speak to here are my 4 tips for finding a language partner in Japan. 

3 Japanese Phrases To Use In Emergencies

I can’t wrap up a list of some of the most important phrases in Japanese without making sure you know a few of the words that could come in very handy. If you find yourself in serious trouble, use these phrases to call for help.

• #71 Tasukete! (助けて) – Help me!
• #72 Keisatsu o yonde kudasai! (警察を呼んで下さい) – Please call the police!
• #73 Kyuu kyuusha o yonde kudasai! (救急車を呼んで下さい) – Please call an ambulance!

Hopefully you never have to use these last three. But it’s always a good thing to remember them in case you need them.

Your Next Steps In Japanese

So there you have it: all of the basic Japanese phrases you need to help you discover and start using the Japanese language.

With these phrases in your back pocket, you will soon find yourself having your first basic conversations with native speakers and getting excited about developing your conversational Japanese.

So now that you’ve learned the basics,  are you ready to take the next step in your Japanese adventure?

I'm a big believer in the power of story to enable you to learn a foreign language. That's why I've created Japanese Uncovered , a course that takes you from beginner all the way to an Intermediate level, with my unique StoryLearning® method.

Thanks to StoryLearning®, you learn Japanese naturally through story… not rules. It’s as fun as it is effective.Along the way you'll learn all of the Japanese vocabulary you need for everyday conversations, as well as how to read, write and pronounce Japanese correctly.

The Key To Stress-Free Japanese Conversations

If you’ve mastered even a small number of the important Japanese phrases in this article, you’ll be well on your way to holding a solid conversation with any native speaker you might happen to encounter at home or when you travel. 

In language learning, you don't need to re-invent the wheel each time you speak to someone new. Nor do you have to come up with all your answers on the spot.

Try thinking about your answers to some native speaker questions beforehand so you can find the right words (like your age, occupation, and country or language name) to describe yourself!

When you know what to expect, and you've prepared in advance, you'll find that conversations with native speakers go much more smoothly. And most importantly, you'll feel more confident about speaking in Japanese.

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147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Looking for interesting topics on Japan? Find them here! This list contains plenty of Japanese culture topics relating to the country’s traditions, art, and social phenomena. Check them out!

🔝 Top 10 Japanese Culture Topics to Write About

🔎 culture-related japan research topics, ✅ japanese topics for presentations, 🏆 best japanese culture topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good japanese culture essay topics, 💡 interesting japanese culture topics to write about, 📌 simple & easy japanese culture essay titles, ❓ research questions about japanese culture.

• The Cultural Impact of Anime
• The Mystique and Roles of Geisha
• Traditional Japanese Arts and Crafts
• Tea Ceremony in Japanese Culture
• The Beauty of Japanese Gardens
• The Art of Japanese Floral Arrangement
• Festivals and Matsuri in Japanese Culture
• The Code of Bushido and Its Influence on Society
• Pop Culture Phenomena of J-Pop and Kawaii
• Sushi, Ramen, and Other Culinary Delights of Japan
• Environmental Sustainability in Japan
• Shintoism and Its Influence on Japanese Society
• Modernization and Transformation of Japan
• Challenges Related to Japan’s Aging Population
• Japanese Video Games and Their Global Appeal
• The Aftermath of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
• The Role of Women in Modern Japanese Society
• Ways of Preserving and Revitalizing Traditional Japanese Arts
• The “Japanese Miracle” of Economic Growth and Technological Advancements
• Achievements, Critiques, and Reforms in the Japanese Education System
• Cherry Blossom Season in Japan
• Symbolism of the Iconic Mount Fuji
• The Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Japan’s Ancient Temples and Urban Landscapes
• How Zen Buddhism Impacts Japanese Aesthetics
• The Beauty and Significance of Origami and Calligraphy
• Japanese Bullet Train and Other Transportation Advancements
• Traditional Japanese Performing Arts: Noh, Kabuki, and Gagaku
• Modern Japanese Literature: Haruki Murakami and Yukio Mishima
• Japanese Business Etiquette, Work Ethics, and Corporate Practices
• Japanese Animations’ Effects on the Japanese Economy and Their Cultural Influence on Foreign Countries These artists incorporate the characteristic anime stylizations, gags and methodology in their piece of work to produce animations that are a bit similar to Japanese anime. The growing interest among foreign artists in anime is […]
• Ramen Culture as a Vital Part of the Traditions in Japan Studying the history of the transformation of ramen culture and the role it plays in modern Japanese popular culture helps to explore the uniqueness of the phenomenon and understand the origins of its immense popularity.
• Disneyland in American, Japanese, European Cultures Due to the popularity of the American culture, Disneyland’s representation of American culture that spreading a positive attitude about life has a significant impact on Disneyland in Asian countries, especially in Japan.
• Culture Comparison Between China and Japan In Japan, it can be proved by the fact that the name Japan is written in the Chinese Kanji and not the Japanese Katakana or Hiragana.
• The Influence of Heavy Metal on Japanese Culture In Japan, the association involving the realm of heavy metal music and personal distinctions has been surveyed in a number of studies.
• Western Pop Culture and Street Fashion of Japanese Youth The research of the topic needs to be preceded by the explanation of the key subjects and notions used in the current paper.
• Japanese Popular Culture: Anime, Video Games, and the Film Industry This report will investigate the growth and influence of Japanese pop culture through anime, video games, and the film industry. The game was created by a Japanese studio and is built on the concept of […]
• Process of Modernization and How It Affected the Cultures of China and Japan Among such countries, China and Japan were voted as the most affected nations by modernization process because of the emergent of simple and advanced technologies. This changed gradually with the spread of industrial revolution in […]
• Issues of Japanese Cultural Identity The other way the anime productions deal with the issues of the Japanese and their cultural identity is by presenting the aspects and ideas that define the people of Japan.
• Conflict Management in Japanese Culture Japan and its culture truly represent the cultural compromise that determines the development of the entire Japanese spiritual tradition.
• Influence of Japanese Culture in Hawaii From the census, it is clear that the culture and the cuisine Hawaii, which are known today, were created by the history of the migration of Japanese to Hawaii when they settled there to work […]
• The Japanese Culture of Ukiyo-E and Ikebana Two areas of the Japanese culture that Mori talks about is Ukiyo-e and Ikebana which are Japanese words that are common to the pre-Meiji artistic works of the Japanese people.
• Culture and Customs of Japan After WWII It must be admitted, however, in the interests of truth, that the traditional mode of living and ways of thinking, both good and bad, are deeply rooted in the life of the Japanese people of […]
• Language and Culture: The Honorifics (Speech or System) of Japanese and Korean In Japan, honorific use is determined by the category of the addressee, that is, he/ she might be superior to the addresser, and this corresponds directly to the verb in use.
• Japanese Anime and Doujin Culture In the 1980’s the anime spread to other parts of the world including the western world where it has continued to grow in popularity.
• Globalization and Japanese Cultures This map is in that book and this course because of demonstrating the movement of goods and people across the world from Afrique to Patagonia and Nouvelle-Guinee.
• Japan After Globalization: Culture and Ethnocentrism The isolated territorial position of the country, geographical and climatic features, frequent earthquakes, and typhoons had a significant influence on the culture and mentality of the Japanese people.
• Researching of the Culture of Japan As for me, I thought that the Arabic language is complicated but after I heard Japanese, I understood it was really hard to learn and speak it.
• Relationships in Japanese History and Culture The preparation of the obento is not easy, it demands some special skills, and, of course, deep knowledge of the traditions.
• Chinese Han Dynasty: Comparing to the Japanese Culture Changing the focus to that one of the daily lives of ordinary citizens, the art of the Chinese culture during the Han Dynasty era allowed introducing a significant amount of diversity into the artistic realm.
• The Japanese Culture and Ecological Interests Many Japanese practices have been adopted in the western world due to the popularity of the culture. Among the many cultural practices of Japan, karate is the most practiced one outside the state.
• Violence and War in Japanese Popular Culture 50 years after the end of the war, the effects of the war have continued to influence the Japanese culture and have also affected its relations with other countries.
• Comparing the USA, China, Japan and the United Kingdom Cultures This diversity is evident in their music, fashion, cuisine, visual arts, cinema and literature and due to the propagation of the same through the media; the American culture has today become the pedestal through which […]
• Comparing Japanese and Chinese Cultures The main difference between the Chinese and Japanese concept of loyalty is that the Chinese people emphasize their loyalty to their family as a top priority.
• The Growth of Japanese Culture in the Tokugawa Period The principal factor that benefited the growth and progress of the nation after the ascension of Tokugawa Ieyasu to power is the conclusion of the Sengoku period.
• Japan’s History and Culture on a Global Scale 1868 marked a period of the modernization of Japan, with the Meiji restoration leading to the centralization of everything about the emperor.
• Japanese and Southeast Asia Cultures The activities of the warrior were based on the principle of bushido. Human civilization is the main characteristic of the culture in the continent of Asia.
• Japanese Colonialism Impact on the Korean Culture For instance, Faker and Ryang consider the effects that the Japanese culture has had on the Korean one, while Schmidt and Lim deal with the ways in which Korea accepted colonialism and how the country […]
• Japanese Culture and Identity in the Modern Era I strongly believe that Japanese popular culture might lose its identity due to influence from other cultures, which may lead to a slight modification of the culture.
• Age in the American and the Japanese Cultures In the Japanese environment, elderly people are respected and appreciated, whereas in the environment of American society, old people are viewed as dead weight.
• American vs. Japanese Cultures as Adaptive Systems Since the analysis of these cultures will be done from the perspective of the cultural theory, the paper will also examine how each culture influences the development of people, identity, and personality within it.
• Japanese National and Organizational Cultures So it is mandatory for the organization to work out modalities of avoiding the feeling of one culture domineering the organization while making the other cultures seem inferior by promoting intercultural bonding and communicating the […]
• Zen Buddhism Religion in Japanese Culture The uniqueness of Zen is in rejecting the importance of doctrines and emphasizing the role of the spiritual growth of the person through the practice of meditation.
• Daoism Philosophy in the Cultures of the Koreans, Japanese and Chinese Besides, the treatise explores the orientations of the Daoist tradition and the concepts of sages, deities, hell and heaven, and Confucian discourse.
• General Aspects of Japanese Corporate Culture Analysing the corporate culture in Japan, the essay will classify the companies into two: the large and small companies The Japanese culture of management stands out clearly in large corporations.
• Japanese Culture Analysis: Values and Traditions For a manager working with a person from the Japanese culture, understanding how the cultural dimensions apply to the culture will help the manager to work well with the other individuals.
• Diversity Management and Japanese Culture This is because it requires a comprehensive understanding of the cultural values of both the native country and also that of the foreign country in which you are supposed to carry out your business activities.
• An Aspect of Politics and Culture of Meiji in Japan In mid 1880’s there was a financial crisis in Japan due to the huge expenses on industrialization. The Sino-Japanese war between 1894and 1895 was due to divergence of interests in Korea involving China and Japan.
• Whaling in Japan: Justifiable by Culture? The gap in reasoning when it comes to utilizing the concept of “scientific research” as a means of justifying the hunting of various whale species by Japanese whalers is the obvious fact that you do […]
• Analysis of “Yuri” Manga as a Peculiarity of Japanese Popular Culture Conclusions of the analysis indicate that yuri manga is not limited to lesbian culture, moreover, it is a significant element of Japanese popular culture.
• Japanese Fascist Ideology and Culture In a fascist authority, the issue of taking control over the people is of great significance and fascist leaders know that for them to control the naivety of the people well then they have to […]
• Traditional Culture No Longer Is Prevalent in Japanese Society However with the phasing of the government policies in to the adoption of the 1870s epoch, it was aimed to enhance the exports of lacquerware to Western countries.
• Cross-Cultural Management: Japanese Culture and Its Workplace Practices This is one of the strategies that can be adopted. This is one of the pitfalls that should be avoided.
• Cultural Evaluation of Japan: Beliefs and Behavior Generally, the culture of Japan is characterized by collectiveness where individualism is not usually a key concept in various practices in different sectors of the economy such as the education system, health care, and politics.
• Influence of the Consumption Phenomenon on Japan’s Social Culture The present society in Japan is founded on the concepts of bettering the welfare of people. Another vital aspect that is worth noting is that the Japanese society is exceptional in because of the presence […]
• Political Economy and Culture in Japan A strong work ethic and management culture in the commerce and manufacturing industry has ensured the prosperity of the Japanese economy. A good example of the interaction of political economics and culture is the case […]
• Hip-Hop and the Japanese Culture The prevalence of soul dancing in Japan in the earlier years also formed the basis for the wide acceptance of the hip-hop culture into the Japanese culture because soul dancing was common in the streets […]
• Japanese Culture vs. Chinese Culture: The Loss of Patriotism
• Anime and Its Effects on Japanese Culture
• Impact of Buddhism on the Japanese Culture
• Chinese and Japanese Culture Comparison and Analysis
• Cultural Globalisation Through Japanese Culture
• Did the Samurai Have a Significant Impact on Japanese Culture?
• Differences Between Korean and Japanese Culture
• Eating Disorders and Self-Harm in Japanese Culture
• Gender Roles in the Japanese Culture
• Hip-Hop Impact on the Japanese Culture
• How Does Sushi Reflect Japanese Culture?
• Overview of Japanese Culture and Communication Features
• Japanese Culture Views on Homosexuality
• How Japanese Culture Has Become So Popular
• Japanese Culture and Its Relation to Buddhism
• How Japanese Culture Affects the Economy
• The Parallels Between Japanese Culture and Military Conflict History
• The Relationships Between Japanese Culture and Politics
• How Reliance Will Get Fit Into the Japanese Culture
• Linking Japanese and South African Culture
• Japanese Culture and the Misconceptions Associated With It
• American Culture and Japanese Culture: Comparative Analysis
• Japanese Culture and Western Influence on It
• The Role of Sexuality in the Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture: Art, History, and Society
• Japanese Culture and Role of Women in It
• Communication Guide Between America Business Culture and Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture Factors Influenced the Disclosure of Financial Information
• The Link Between Religions and Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture: From Ancient to Modern Times
• Social and Geographical Aspects of the Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture Places High Value on Privacy
• The Gender Problems in the Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture: Producing Japan in the World
• Key Similarities and Differences Between the Japanese and the American Cultures
• Japanese Culture That Reflects Through Their Writing and Art Forms
• Motivation and Organizational Japanese Culture
• The Odd and Fascinating Japanese Culture
• Tracing Back the Japanese Culture to 10,000 BC
• Understanding the Japanese Culture Through the Warrior Codes of Bushido
• What Is the Influence of Anime on Japanese Culture?
• Are Chinese and Japanese Cultures Similar?
• How Is Cultural Globalization Through Japanese Culture?
• Did the Samurai Have a Significant Impact on Japanese Culture and Historical?
• What Are the Differences Between Korean and Japanese Cultures?
• Are Eating Disorders and Self-Harm Inherent in Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Cultural Assessment of Japanese Culture?
• What Are the Gender Roles in Japanese Culture?
• How Has Japanese Culture Become So Popular?
• How Dose Japanese Culture Affects the Economy Cultural?
• What Is the Attitude Towards Homosexuality in Japanese Culture?
• What Are the Features of Communication in Japanese Culture?
• How Reliance Will Get Fit Into the Japanese Culture?
• How Does Japanese Culture Affect Japanese Business?
• What Are Some Misconceptions About Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Place of Women in Japanese Culture?
• What Do You Need to Know About Japanese Culture Before Going to Japan?
• How Did Japanese Culture Change From Ancient Times to Modern Times?
• How Is Japan’s Culture Reflected in Their Writing and Art Forms?
• What Are the Differences Between American and Japanese Cultures?
• How Is Sexuality Interpreted in Japanese Culture?
• How Does Japanese Culture Spread Abroad?
• What Is the Place of Religion in Japanese Culture?
• What Are the Socio-Geographical Aspects of Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Place of Food in Japanese Culture?
• How Can Japanese Culture Be Understood Through the Warrior Codes of Bushido?
• What Is the Uniqueness of Japanese Culture?
• How Does the West Respond to Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Role of Buddhism in Japanese Culture?
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IvyPanda. (2023, December 21). 147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/japanese-culture-essay-topics/

"147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." IvyPanda , 21 Dec. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/japanese-culture-essay-topics/.

IvyPanda . (2023) '147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples'. 21 December.

IvyPanda . 2023. "147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." December 21, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/japanese-culture-essay-topics/.

1. IvyPanda . "147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." December 21, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/japanese-culture-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." December 21, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/japanese-culture-essay-topics/.