Japanese sentences usually put the verb last and the subject first. Verb modifiers, such as “have to,” come after the verb. Let’s compare a couple English sentences to their Japanese analogs:
| English | I have to go to the store tomorrow. |
| Japanese | Tomorrow, I the store to go have to. |
| English | I bought two red sweaters at the store yesterday |
| Japanese | Yesterday, I the store at red sweater two of bought. |
When asking a question, the subject is spoken first, the question word next, and then the state is spoken last. In polite conversation, a questioning particle, “ka,” is spoken at the end of each question sentence.
| English | Where is the train station? |
| Japanese | Station, where is it? |
| English | How much is this red sweater? |
| Japanese | Red sweater, how much is it? |
Here are some phrases you might need if you’re wandering around Japan:
| What it means: |
How to say it (refer to “Basic Japanese” page for pronunciation) |
Example |
| Where is the ___ station? | ___-eki wa doko desu ka? | Tokyo-eki wa doko desu ka? |
| Where is ____? | ___wa doko desu ka? | Toire (toilet/restroom) wa doko desu ka? |
| Do you have ___? (objects or plants only!) | ___ ga arimasu ka? | jiusu (juice) ga arimasu ka? |
| How much does this cost? | kore wa ikura desu ka? | |
| How much does ___ cost? | ___ wa ikura desu ka? | kip-pu (train ticket) wa ikura desu ka? |
| My name is ___. | namae wa ___ desu. | namae wa anna desu. |
| What is your name? | o-namae wa nan desu ka? | |
| Who is it? | dare desu ka? | |
| What is it? | nan desu ka? | |
| Where is it? | doko desu ka? | |
| Please (do this for me) | onegaishimasu | |
| Thank you | arigatoo gozaimasu | |
| Excuse me | sumimasen | |
| Is the place preposition the noun?
(Is the grocery store next to the station?) |
place wa noun no preposition ni arimasu ka? | supaa (grocery store) wa eki (station) no chikaku (next to) ni arimasu ka? |
| How much is it to ___? | ___ made ikura desu ka? | Tokyo made ikura desu ka? |
And here are some words you might need to use:
| Definition | Pronunciation |
| Train Station | eki |
| Train Line | sen |
| Ticket | kip-pu |
| Exit (noun) | deguchi |
| Over there | sochira/sore |
| Way over there | achira/are |
| Right | migi |
| Left | hidari |
| Straight ahead/a little further | mas- sugu |
| I don’t understand | wakarimasen |
| North | kita |
| South | minami |
| East | higashi |
| West | nishi |
| Where | doko |
| When | itsu |
| What | nani/nan |
| Food | tabemono |
| Drink | nomimono |
| Convenience Store | conbini |
| Grocery Store | supaa |
| Police station | koban |
| Post office (they have ATMs) | yuubin-kyoku |
| Street signal/light | shingoo |
