Speaking and pronunciation
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
Speaking and pronunciation · Page 36
Asking for a Day Off in Japanese: Yūkyū Requests by Voice, Chat and Email
To ask for a day off in Japanese, say the date, then o-yasumi o itadakitai no desu ga, and finish with yoroshii deshō ka; that one pattern works in person, in chat and in email, and your boss will usually answer with a short daijōbu desu yo.
13 min readJapanese Business Trip (Shucchō): Applying, Booking, Greetings and the Report
A shucchō, a business trip, runs on a fixed sequence in most Japanese companies: apply with a shucchō shinsei, book through admin, greet the destination office with o-sewa ni natte orimasu, keep every receipt, and close the trip with a short shucchō hōkoku and a thank-you on return.
13 min readGiving Feedback to a Colleague in Japanese: Kōhai, Dōryō and Your Boss
To give feedback to a colleague in Japanese, open with a cushion such as sukoshi ii desu ka, name one specific thing, suggest rather than instruct with shita hō ga ii kamo shiremasen, and close with a forward-looking line; the register shifts with rank, but the shape stays the same.
13 min readJapanese Work Handover (Hikitsugi): Phrases, the Hikitsugisho and Clients
Hikitsugi is the formal handover of your work to a successor before leave, a transfer or resignation; you do it well by writing a hikitsugisho, walking the successor through it in person, and introducing them to every client with a short kōnin no go-shōkai message.
13 min readJapanese Performance Review (Hyōka Mendan): Self-Evaluation, Feedback and Pay
A Japanese performance review, the hyōka mendan, is a short structured talk about the goals you set, how you rate yourself and what comes next; you do well by stating results plainly, framing them with humble grammar and asking about pay and promotion as questions, not demands.
13 min readKeihi Seisan: Filing Expense Reports in Japanese Without Annoying Accounting
Keihi seisan, expense settlement, is the monthly routine of claiming back money you spent for work, and it goes smoothly once you know which receipt to ask for, how to fill in the four main form fields and how to talk to the accounting team.
13 min readChōrei, the Japanese Morning Meeting: Your Daily Report and One-Minute Speech
Chōrei is the short stand-up meeting that opens the day in many Japanese workplaces, and once you know its fixed order, the report formula and a template for the one-minute speech, it stops being frightening and becomes free daily speaking practice.
13 min readJapanese Overtime and Shift Vocabulary: Zangyō, Teiji, Shifts and Swaps
Zangyō is overtime, teiji is your fixed finishing time and shifuto is a shift, and knowing these words lets you ask about working hours clearly, read a shift table and negotiate a swap without misunderstanding.
14 min readJapanese Quotes, Invoices and Contracts: Mitsumorisho to Keiyakusho Explained
A Japanese business deal moves through a fixed chain of documents, quote, order, delivery note, invoice, receipt and contract, and once you can read the fields on each and ask for the next one politely, the paperwork side of the job becomes routine.
13 min readVisiting a Client Office in Japanese: Reception, Seating and Leaving Politely
A client visit in Japan follows a fixed script from the reception desk to the lift, and once you know the handful of phrases at each stage you can concentrate on the meeting itself rather than on the etiquette around it.
13 min readHow to Say I Don't Know in Japanese: Wakarimasen, Shirimasen and Politer Ways
"I don't know" is one of the first things you need in Japanese, and one of the easiest to say in a way that sounds colder than you meant.
9 min readHow to Say I'm Tired in Japanese: Tsukareta, Kutakuta and Nemui
Tired after work, sleepy after lunch, drained after a party, sluggish with a cold: English uses one word, and Japanese uses several.
9 min readPractical guides
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