What workplace Japanese actually asks of you
On most worksites, the Japanese you need is not long or complicated. It is short instructions, quick confirmations, and reports about progress and problems. The difficulty is speed and pressure: you have to understand the first time and answer immediately.
That is why speaking practice matters even for people who pass their tests comfortably. Recognising a sentence on a screen and responding to it in a noisy workplace are different skills.
The job interview
Interviews for skilled-worker roles often focus on your experience, why you want to work in Japan, how long you plan to stay, and whether you can follow rules and work in a team. Prepare short, honest answers and practise saying them naturally rather than reciting.
Unihongo's Japanese Job Interview roleplay mission lets you rehearse with an AI Sensei who asks follow-up questions, which is where memorised answers usually break down.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ベトナムから参りました。 | Betonamu kara mairimashita. | I have come from Vietnam. |
| 介護の仕事を三年しました。 | Kaigo no shigoto o sannen shimashita. | I worked in care for three years. |
| 日本の技術を学びたいと思っています。 | Nihon no gijutsu o manabitai to omotte imasu. | I would like to learn Japanese skills and techniques. |
| ルールを守って、まじめに働きます。 | Rūru o mamotte, majime ni hatarakimasu. | I will follow the rules and work diligently. |
| もう一度おっしゃっていただけますか。 | Mō ichido osshatte itadakemasu ka. | Could you say that once more, please? |
Reporting to a supervisor
Japanese workplaces value reporting, contacting and consulting early. A short, clear report of a problem is far better than silence while you try to fix it alone. The guide to hōrensō covers the concept; here are the lines to rehearse until they come without thinking.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 作業が終わりました。 | Sagyō ga owarimashita. | I have finished the task. |
| すみません、機械が止まりました。 | Sumimasen, kikai ga tomarimashita. | Excuse me, the machine has stopped. |
| 確認してもよろしいでしょうか。 | Kakunin shite mo yoroshii deshō ka. | May I check to make sure? |
| 次は何をすればいいですか。 | Tsugi wa nani o sureba ii desu ka. | What should I do next? |
| ここに置けばいいですか。 | Koko ni okeba ii desu ka. | Should I put it here? |
| 電車が遅れていて、十分ほど遅れます。 | Densha ga okurete ite, juppun hodo okuremasu. | The train is delayed, so I will be about ten minutes late. |
Daily life after you arrive
The first months bring a run of conversations that are not about work at all: the clinic, a missed delivery, the apartment, the convenience store. Each is predictable enough to rehearse.
Roleplay missions such as Describe Symptoms at a Clinic, Reschedule a Missed Delivery, View an Apartment and Convenience Store Checkout cover exactly these, and you can repeat them until the unexpected question no longer throws you.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 昨日から熱があります。 | Kinō kara netsu ga arimasu. | I have had a fever since yesterday. |
| 荷物の再配達をお願いしたいです。 | Nimotsu no saihaitatsu o onegai shitai desu. | I would like to request redelivery of a package. |
| ゴミの出し方を教えてください。 | Gomi no dashikata o oshiete kudasai. | Please tell me how to put out the rubbish. |
| 袋はいりません。 | Fukuro wa irimasen. | I do not need a bag. |
Pronunciation that prevents mistakes
At work, some pronunciation errors change meaning in ways that matter: a number, a time, a quantity. Long vowels and the small tsu are the usual culprits, because they change a word's length and therefore the word itself.
Unihongo's pronunciation lab generates drill lines for your level with a chosen focus, such as long vowels or small tsu, and scores your recording on sounds, mora timing and pitch accent, showing which mora slipped.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ビル | biru | Building |
| ビール | bīru | Beer |
| 来て | kite | Come (te form) |
| 切って | kitte | Cut (te form) |
| おばさん | obasan | Aunt, middle-aged woman |
| おばあさん | obāsan | Grandmother, elderly woman |
A short daily routine
- Say one workplace report aloud with new details each day.
- Run one daily-life roleplay mission a few times a week.
- Do a pronunciation lab drill on numbers, long vowels or small tsu.
- Read the session report and repeat each correction aloud.
- Keep vocabulary from your sessions as flashcards and review them.
- Once a week, talk freely with your AI Sensei about your job and your week.