As a non-Japanese-speaking Asian, I noticed something that caught me off guard almost everywhere I went in Japan: staff at restaurants and hotels default to speaking Japanese with me.
Luckily, I’ve learned all of the hiragana for one semister 10 years ago in college, and I’ve picked up a little Japanese before the trip, with some help from Gemini and Claude, I put together a cheat sheet of the exact conversations I kept running into, including the questions staff might ask, and the most common ways to answer it.
Everything below is beginner-friendly, even if you’ve never studied Japanese before. Each phrase comes with the Japanese script, the hiragana reading, and a simple “dictionary-style” pronunciation guide broken into syllables. If would be helpful to copy-paste the Japanese into Google Translate to hear how it’s actually spoken.
First of all,
Before getting into specific situations, these two words will instantly make you sound polite:
すみません — “Excuse me”
Pronunciation: [ su · mi · ma · sen ]
Use this to open almost any interaction, for example getting a staff member’s attention, apologizing for a small inconvenience, or squeezing past someone.
お願いします — “Please”
Hiragana: おねがいします
Pronunciation: [ o · ne · ga · i · shi · ma · su ]
Add this to the end of a request, the way you’d say “please” after “check” in English. It instantly makes whatever you just said sound polite and complete.
Secondly, it’s also worth checking whether English is an option beforehand.
“Can you speak English?”
英語を話せますか？
Hiragana: えいごをはなせますか？
Pronunciation: [ ei · go o ha · na · se · ma · su ka ]
If the answer is no, or you’d rather just get ahead of it:
“Excuse me, I don’t understand Japanese”
すみません、日本語がわかりません
Hiragana: すみません、にほんごがわかりません
Pronunciation: [ su·mi·ma·sen, ni·hon·go ga wa·ka·ri·ma·sen ]
Situation 1: At a restaurant
Walking into a restaurant almost always starts with the same question: how many people are in your group.
Staff: “Welcome! How many people in your party?”
いらっしゃいませ！何名様ですか？
Hiragana: いらっしゃいませ！なんめいさまですか？
Pronunciation: [ i·ra·ssha·i·ma·se! nan·mei·sa·ma de·su ka ]
Here are the possible answers:
- “One person.” 一人です — [ hi · to · ri de · su ]
- “Two people.” 二人です — [ fu · ta · ri de · su ]
- “Three people.” 三人です — [ san · nin de · su ]
- “Four people.” 四人です — [ yo · nin de · su ]
Some restaurants, ramen shops especially, use a ticket vending machine by the entrance. You order and pay there first, then hand the ticket to staff.
“Here’s my ticket, please.”
食券、お願いします。
Hiragana: しょっけん、おねがいします。
Pronunciation: [ shok · ken, o · ne · ga · i · shi · ma · su ]
Ready to order at the table?
“Excuse me, I’d like to order!”
すみません、注文お願いします！
Hiragana: すみません、ちゅうもん おねがいします！
Pronunciation: [ su·mi·ma·sen, chuu·mon o·ne·ga·i·shi·ma·su ]
If you’re pointing at a specific item on the menu:
“This one, please.”
これ一つ、お願いします
Hiragana: これひとつ、おねがいします
Pronunciation: [ ko·re hi·to·tsu, o·ne·ga·i·shi·ma·su ]
Using ひとつ for one quantity
Ordering more than one item? Japanese uses its own set of counting words for objects:
| Quantity | Written | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一つ (ひとつ) | [ hi · to · tsu ] |
| 2 | 二つ (ふたつ) | [ fu · ta · tsu ] |
| 3 | 三つ (みっつ) | [ mit · tsu ] |
| 4 | 四つ (よっつ) | [ yot · tsu ] |
| 5 | 五つ (いつつ) | [ i · tsu · tsu ] |
If you’re not sure what to get and want to get some suggestions
“Which one do you recommend?”
おすすめは どれですか？
Hiragana: おすすめはどれですか？
Pronunciation: [ o·su·su·me wa do·re de·su ka ]
And when you’re ready to leave:
“Check, please.”
お会計、お願いします。
Hiragana: おかいけい、おねがいします。
Pronunciation: [ o·kai·kei, o·ne·ga·i·shi·ma·su ] English:
Situation 2: In a shop
This next exchange happened to me at almost every checkout counter in Japan.
Staff: “Do you need a bag?”
袋はいりますか？
Hiragana: ふくろはいりますか？
Pronunciation: [ fu·ku·ro wa i·ri·ma·su ka ] English:
✅ For a Yes answer: はい、お願いします
Hiragana: はい、おねがいします
Pronunciation: [ hai, o·ne·ga·i·shi·ma·su ]
❌ For a No answer: 大丈夫です
Hiragana: だいじょうぶです
Pronunciation: [ dai · jou · bu de · su ]
If the POS has several options, staff will often ask:
Staff: “How would you like to pay?”
お支払い方法は？
Hiragana: おしはらいほうほうは？
Pronunciation: [ o·shi·ha·ra·i hou·hou wa ]
If you want to use credit card
“By card, please.”
カードで、お願いします。
Hiragana: カードで、おねがいします。
Pronunciation: [ kaa·do de, o·ne·ga·i·shi·ma·su ]
Or, if you’re using an IC card:
“By Suica, please.”
Suica（スイカ）で、お願いします。
Hiragana: すいかで、おねがいします。
Pronunciation: [ su·i·ka de, o·ne·ga·i·shi·ma·su ]
Some smaller shops are still cash-only, and staff will let you know upfront:
Staff: “Cash only!”
現金のみです！
Hiragana: げんきんのみです！
Pronunciation: [ gen·kin no·mi de·su ]
Situation 3: At a convenience store, aka konbini
If you grab something that might need heating, like a bento box, you’ll usually get asked:
Staff: “Do you have anything that needs to be heated up?”
温める商品はございますか？
Hiragana: あたためるしょうひんはございますか？
Pronunciation: [ a·ta·ta·me·ru shou·hin wa go·za·i·ma·su ka ]
“Please heat this one up.”
これ、温めお願いします。
Hiragana: これ、あたためおねがいします。
Pronunciation: [ ko·re, a·ta·ta·me o·ne·ga·i·shi·ma·su ]
“No, thank you.”
大丈夫です
Hiragana: だいじょうぶです
Pronunciation: [ dai · jou · bu de · su ]
You might also get asked about a store loyalty card:
Staff: “Do you have a point card?”
ポイントカードはお持ちですか？
Hiragana: ポイントカードはおもちですか？
Pronunciation: [ poin·to kaa·do wa o·mo·chi de·su ka ]
As a tourist, i assume you probably don’t, just like me, and then you can say:
You: “no, I don’t have one.”
だいじょうぶです。
Pronunciation: [ dai · jou · bu de · su ]
Final tip
None of this needs to be memorized perfectly. Even just stammering through すみません and お願いします with a smile goes a long way!
If you want to double-check how something sounds before your trip, copy the Japanese line into Google Translate and tap the audio icon 🔊. Hearing it out loud a few times is usually all it takes to feel confident using it in the moment.
Happy travel, and good luck in ordering food!
