Learning Japanese - Useful Phrases: Restaurants

Eating at restaurants has long been an intricate part of Japanese culture, especially for families to eat out a couple of times a month at sushi or yakiniku restaurants, or for "salary men" to eat at Izakaya's (pubs with a large selection of small food portions). But for anyone, going to restaurants in Japan is usually a very enjoyable experience as the staff are extremely polite and create a warm and friendly atmosphere with their courteous and energetic attitudes. From the huge "Irasshaimase!!" (welcome) as you enter the door to the "Thankyou's" and "Enjoy's" that are shouted and in most cases repeated by every available staff member each time you place an order.

Going to your local Sushi train or teppanyaki can also be a great way to learn Japanese or practice some new phrases you have picked up. So whether you are dining locally or visiting the land of the rising sun, here is a list of the most common phrases and words used in a Japanese restaurant situation.

When entering the restaurant:

*Irasshaimase - welcome *nanmei sama desuka? - how many people? *hitori - 1 person *futari - 2 people *sannin - 3 people *yonin - 4 people *gonin - 5 people *rokunin - 6 people *nananin - 7 people *hachinin - 8 people *kyuunin - 9 people *jyuunin - 10 people *tabako suwarimasuka? - will you be smoking? *hai - yes *suwanai - no

Ordering:

*gochuumon okimari desuka? - are you ready to order? *hai- yes *chotto matte kudasai - just a moment please *____arimasuka? - do you have____? *arimasu - yes (we do)*nai desu - no (we don't) *____kudasai - ____please * ____hitotsu kudasai - one____please *____futatsu kudasai - two____'s please *____mittsu kudasai - three____'s please *____yottsu kudasai - four____'s please *____izutsu kudasai - five____'s please *kore nan desuka? - what's this? *arigatou gozaimasu - thank you

Drinks (nomimono):

*omizu - water *ocha - green tea *koucha - tea *koohi - coffee *koora - cola *orenji jyuusu - orange juice *ringo jyuusu - apple juice *biiru - beer *wain - wine *attakai - warm/hot *tsumetai - cold

Food (tabemono):

*niku - meat *gyuniku - beef *toriniku - chicken *butaniku - pork *sakana - fish *yasai - vegetables *sarada - salad *pan - bread *men - noodles *furaido poteto - french fries *yakisoba - fried noodles

Note: most western food and drinks are the same or very similar in Japanese so if you get stuck, just say it in English slowly and they should get the idea.;)

Numbers/Money:

Note- Yen is pronounced as 'en' at the end of the price

*1 - ichi, 2 - ni, 3 - san, 4 - shi, 5 - go, 6 - roku, 7 - nana, 8 - hachi, 9 - kyu, 10 - jyu.

*Add a number then jyu (ten) to make twenty, thirty etc. For example nijyu = twenty, gojyu = fifty.

*Hyaku - hundred *Sen - Thousand *Man - Ten thousand *Jyuman - hundred thousand

*Some examples- 2,500 - Ni sen go hyaku, 11,400 - ichiman sen yon hyaku, 255 - ni hyaku go jyu go

(There are some minor changes made to numbers when grouping together but it will get too complicated to mention them here.)

Ganbatte (good luck) learning Japanese and have fun!!

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