Japanese Language

 Top Ten matters (Collins Easy Learning

Japanese Phrasebook )

Sumimasen  is a word with

many Purposes:

to attract someone's attention

before making a request;

to say "I'm sorry";

to get past people on a

crowded train.

The Japanese tend not to use

assertive words such as "Yes"

or "No."  Good alternatives are

ii desu be for yes, and chotto

for no. 

Hello = konnichwa 

Goodbye = sayoonara

Thank you = arigatoo

[ Linguistic nuances :

there is no article, gender,

or singular/plural in the 

language ] 

The Japanese tend to tell

you where they work rather

than what they do.

At the airport, most signs

are written in both Japanese

and English.  All the airport

staff understand and can

speak some English.

Stores serve shoppers between

10.oo am until 6.30 PM with

slightly longer opening hours

on the weekends.  Some

supermarkets are open 24

hours daily.

Text messaging is not as

popular as it is in some

countries but sending emails

to mobile phones is.

Computer and internet 

terminology tends to be

in English language.

In Japanese, the possessive

(my, his, her, etc.) is not

generally used in referring

to parts of the body.

The four seasons are:

Spring : haru 

Summer : natsu 

Autumn : aki 

Winter : fuyu 

Public holidays =

Most stores are closed the

first three days of New Year;

during the so-called Golden

week holiday (end of April to

beginning of May) the roadways

will be extremely busy with

many Japanese traveling. Obon 

(13 - 16 August) is similar to

Christmas elsewhere but is

not a national holiday.  People

take vacations and travel back

to their hometown, having

shopped at mid-year.