Japanese words you should know

Sergio
2019.08.01
1,092 views

There are some words that you’ll hear Japanese people say constantly. If you live in Japan, you’ll know that Japanese is a very terse language and there are some full sentences that can be expressed in a couple of syllables in Japanese. While this can be difficult to adjust to, it also means that you can achieve some basic level of communication with a few words. Here’s a list of some of the most common ones:

日本人にほんじんがよく使つかうことばの中なかには、シンプルで短みじかいことばがあります。

しかし、そのシンプルなことばには、いろいろな意味いみが込こめられています。

Ganbatte

Ganbatte. 「頑張がんばって」

Often translated to “do your best”, you’ll hear this word constantly. The feelings ganbatte conveys are varied and expressed in different ways in English, such as “do whatever you can”, “good luck”, “hang in there”, “go you!”, or just “do it”. Whether the task at hand is within your control or not, and whether a good result can be expected or not, ganbatte is a blanket statement that is applied to everything. This is a reflection on Japanese society, as effort is often as important as results. While “good luck” is passive, ganbatte expects something of the other. If something doesn’t go as expected, we can use this next word!

日本にほんでは、努力どりょくは結果けっかと同おなじくらい大切たいせつであることが多おおいです。だから、これは日本にほん社会しゃかいを反映はんえいしています。

「幸運こううん」は受動じゅどう的てきですが、「ganbatte」は逆ぎゃくです。ほかの人ひとが期待きたいどおりに動うごかないときは、このことばが使つかわれます。

Shouganai / Shikataganai

Shouganai/Shikataganai.　「しょうがない / 仕方しかたがない」

You could literally translate these to “it can’t be helped”, or more naturally “it is what it is”. While we do say this now and then, the phrase is extremely common in Japan. Ganbatte expects you to put an effort into it, while shouganai expresses resignation, no matter how hard you tried. It is more often used outside of the work space though. It is often bad manners to complain in Japan, so shouganai is a good substitute!

「助たすけられない」、またはもっと自然しぜんに「原因げんいんが何なにかあるかもしれない」と翻訳ほんやくすることができます。

このフレーズは日本にっぽんではとてもよく聞ききます。

「努力どりょくは認みとめるけど、できなかったね」というような感かんじです。

日本にほんでほかの人ひとに文句もんくを言いうの悪わるいマナーなので、「shouganai」は文句もんくの代かわりに使つかわれているかもしれません。

Otsukare

Otsukare.　「お疲つかれ」

This, when translated literally, means “you are tired”. It may seem strange to tout being tired as a positive, but the Japanese language is often very literal and the actual meaning is much more complex. Otsukare is actually a greeting meaning something akin to “good job today”. It is used when saying goodbye to coworkers, or meeting friends for a drink after work. While in English there are plenty of ways to bid goodbye to someone, this is essentially the way Japanese workers do it every day.

これは、文字通もじどおりに言いいかえすると「あなたは疲つかれている」という意味いみです。

日本にほん語ごの実際じっさいの意味いみはもっと複雑ふくざつです。「Otsukare」は「今日きょう、いい仕事しごとしたね」に似にたあいさつです。

仲間なかまに別わかれを言いったり、仕事しごとの後あとに、会社かいしゃの　先輩せんぱいや　同僚どうりょう　、友達ともだちとお酒さけを飲のみに行いったりするときに使つかわれます。

英語えいごでは人ひとに別わかれを表現ひょうげんする方法ほうほうはたくさんありますが、これは日本にほんの　会社かいしゃで別わかれを表現ひょうげんする方法ほうほうです。

Itadakimasu

Itadakimasu.　「いただきます」

You should say this every time before you start eating, it can be rude not to do so. It literally means “I will receive” (again, Japanese tends to be very literal!) but it’s used more like “bon appétit”. You’ll often here people merrily saying in restaurants, and some people do it even when they’re alone.

食事しょくじの前まえに言いうことばで、マナーです。

「bonappétit」のように使つかわれています。

レストランやカフェで皆みなで同時どうじに言いったり、一人ひとりの時ときにも言いう人ひともいます。

Hi, I’m Sergio.
I’m from Spain, lived in the UK for seven years and came to Japan in 2012.
I majored in journalism in London and have been teaching English in Tokyo.
I like traveling, cycling, photography, movies, and spending time with friends.
I wrote articles about life in Japan as a foreigner and anything that I might find interesting.
My email is ” sergio.dom.jpn@gmail.com “, by all means contact me about anything!