Learn Japanese Phrases
The first point is that Japanese is a phonetically based language. What that means is that you pronounce it the way it is written. There are no exceptions like there are in English. Once you learn the basic building blocks of the language, to say words are simply a case of putting together the syllables and you will be able to pronounce the words correctly. For example to say 'Thank-you' in Japanese is 'Arigatou'. If you sound the word out and write it how it sounds in English it would be ah ri gah toh.
The second point is that many phrases in English are only one or two words in Japanese. For example, 'How do you do?' is only one word in Japanese 'Hajimemashite'. Another example is 'Lets start eating', again in Japanese is only one word 'Itakakimasu'. Japanese does use a different sentence structure to English though, so when you are first starting out to learn Japanese, you are better to learn the phrases as they are and not try to understand every word, as it may confuse you. Later on, if you continue learning, you will then how sentences are put together.
Of course not all phrases will be one or two words, but you should find after you have learnt the basic sounds of the language, putting together words and sentences is not so hard after all.
Click Play and Listen below to learn some basic Japanese phrases. Most of the phrases below are one or two words which makes them good ones to start to learn Japanese.
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| English | Japanese |
| Hello | Konnichi wa |
| Excuse Me | Sumimasen |
| Yes | Hai |
| No | Iie |
| I don't understand | Wakarimasen |
| Thank-you | Arigato |
| No Thank-you | Kekko desu |
| You're welcome | Do Itashimashite |
| I'm sorry | Gomen Nasai |
| I'm pleased | Ureshii desu |
| I'm sad | Kanashii desu |
More Japanese Phrases
