Japan is one of the smoothest countries in the world to travel (trains run to the second, everything works) right up until you need to read or say something and can't. The fix isn't fluency. It's a small kit of phrases plus a translator for the rest.
The ten that carry you
If you learn nothing else, learn these:
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| すみません | sumimasen | excuse me / sorry / thank you (the Swiss-army word) |
| ありがとうございます | arigatou gozaimasu | thank you (polite) |
| お願いします | onegaishimasu | please / I'll have this |
| はい / いいえ | hai / iie | yes / no |
| これ | kore | this (point at it) |
| いくらですか | ikura desu ka | how much is it? |
| 大丈夫です | daijoubu desu | I'm fine / no thanks / it's okay |
| わかりません | wakarimasen | I don't understand |
| 英語 | eigo | English |
| トイレ | toire | toilet |
Sumimasen alone does more work than any other word: it gets a waiter's attention, apologises for a bump, and thanks someone, all depending on tone. For asking a price and actually understanding the number that comes back, see how much is this in Japanese.
Food and ordering
- メニュー (menyuu), menu · おすすめ (osusume), what do you recommend?
- お水 (o-mizu), water · お会計 (o-kaikei), the check, please
- 持ち帰り (mochikaeri), takeout · 店内 (tennai), eat in
- 辛い (karai), spicy · アレルギー (arerugii), allergy
When the menu itself is the obstacle, don't spell it out phrase by phrase, point your camera at it instead. Full guide: how to translate a Japanese menu. And for the phrases to actually say once you're seated, ordering, checking an allergy or asking for the bill, see how to order food in Japanese.
Directions and trains
- 駅 (eki), station · 出口 (deguchi), exit · 入口 (iriguchi), entrance
- 右 (migi), right · 左 (hidari), left · まっすぐ (massugu), straight ahead
- どこですか (doko desu ka), where is…? · 近い (chikai), near
Station signage is mostly bilingual in cities, but platform notices, delay announcements and small-town stations often aren't, and a camera translator covers the gaps. For the specific characters worth knowing on sight, see how to translate Japanese signs.
If something goes wrong
- 助けて (tasukete), help! · 病院 (byouin), hospital
- 警察 (keisatsu), police · 痛い (itai), it hurts
- アレルギーがあります (arerugii ga arimasu), I have an allergy
For anything urgent or detailed, a voice translator beats fishing for the right phrase: say it in English, let it speak Japanese, and hear the reply back in English.
The two rules of using a translator abroad
- Shoot first, translate second. The moments you need it most, a rural station, a basement restaurant, three floors down in the subway, are exactly where signal dies. Photograph the sign or the notice on the spot and import it when you resurface. A photo doesn't expire, and a timetable you shot at nine reads the same at noon.
- Point, don't type, for real-world text. Signs, menus and labels are faster to read with a camera than to copy out. Save typing for messages you can select.
A little politeness plus a translator that reads the world in place gets you further in Japan than months of flashcards. Yomi handles the camera, voice and text sides in one app, Japanese plus seventeen other languages, with no account to create before you point it at anything, so the forty phrases are yours and everything else is one tap away. Read the full rundown of Japanese-to-English methods if you want to go deeper.